Cricket advertisements that caught the Eye (Part - I)

 Nothing official about it - Pepsi: The trendsetter in the tongue in cheek or below the line campaigns. Popularly called ambush marketing this was one campaign that gained enormous popularity and finally it led to a regulation preventing this from happening once again. This campaign had Pepsi saying “nothing official about it”. This campaign became the talk of the town.

Youngsters or the generation Xers made the campaign their own and it symbolized the mood at that particular point of time. At that particular time everything official was portrayed as old, boring and outdated. Unofficial was new, exciting and trendy. Unofficial is the rebel and all things that are anti establishment  are attractive to the youngsters or generation Xers. By using the campaign “Nothing official about it” Pepsi got more mileage for its campaign than the official sponsor Coca Cola. This campaign was done in the 1996 world cup.

Hands Free comfort – VIP: This very entertaining advertisement of VIP garments makes the point very dramatically. Tight under garments make the wearer very uncomfortable and they tend to scratch themselves. That means lots of hand gesturing. The umpire gesticulates once a wide ball is bowled. The crawlie immediately appears which says “Hands free comfort” If one uses VIP one can experience hands free comfort. Whenever we watched the umpire makes hand gestures we were reminded of the advertisement and the campaign.

Coolest one - Kelvinator: This one was from the Kelvinator Company. Kelvinator was the refrigerator that kept all the things at their coolest best. Kelvinator was the sponsor of the spectacular catches. It was saying you need the coolest mind and the coolest hands to hold the spectacular catches. It was quit natural that Kelvinator sponsored the spectacular catches.

IBP Red – Aaj Ka Sikhar: IBP Red was the company that made lubricating oil for the vehicles. IBP Red Sikhar was the most menacing bowler who took the most wickets. The connection – Aaj Ka Sikar is the hunter just like IBP Red lubricating oil that hunts the rust and keeps the engine going on and  on.

Close Shave – Godrej:  Whenever there is a case of a batsman escaping from a  close run out or a catch being spilled or LBW (leg before wicket)  decision being turned down the graphic immediately comes on – Godrej close shave. That is the closest that a batsman got to getting out. As close a shave that you can get from Godrej shaving cream.

Wide country wide Finance:  Whenever there is a wide declared – on the screen there is a caption – Wide – country wide finance. The car financing company was cleverly associating itself with the word wide to denote it very large base of offices in the world. Whenever the television viewer sees a  wide being signaled he immediately remembers country wide finance. A sure way to gain top of the mind awareness.

Cricket and advertising

Money has started to rule the game of cricket from the 1990 onwards. The love of the lucre was so much that the passing way of Mark Mascarehans (the CEO of World Tel) was mourned by the Indian cricket team by wearing of black badges but not the passing away of the then speaker G.M.C.Balayogi. 

Dollars have taken over cricket. The domination of the Indian sub continent especially India is because 90% of the funds that come to world cricket are because of the sponsorships that cricket is able to generate from the Indian corporate companies. The rule of money has become so powerful that it led to an unofficial test match being played between India and South Africa flouting blatantly the authority of ICC (International cricket council).

The recent incident of the racial slur that Harbhajan was alleged to have directed at Andrew Symonds also had to be solved to the satisfaction of BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India). If India does not tour any country that country’s cricket board will become bankrupt. The Pakistani cricket board also realizes this fact. When Pakistani matches were rescheduled from that country to venues in India for the present cricket world cup there was hardly any murmur of protest from the Pakistani cricket board.  

Cricket means mega bucks for the corporates and the advertising agencies. Cricket is the most watched game in India and crores of people watch the game. But the problem is sponsoring or taking the advertisement spots has become very costly. Even if one advertises there is no guarantee that one’s advertisements would stand out in the clutter. So how do we make sure that our products stand out in the clutter and remain etched in the black box of the customer that is politely called the ‘mind’?  

But luckily for the sponsors cricket is a very advertising friendly game. There is time between the balls and between the overs. There is at least a break between the innings. Added bonus is there is time when one batsman gets out. The game is leisurely and does not have the frantic pace of football. This can lead to discussions when the commentators can subtly pitch for the products they  endorse.


There are many innovations that have been introduced in cricket. The corporates have innovated the concept of a third innings. Third innings is the discussion that is conducted between the innings break.  Packages from the game are nicely presented to the audience. The terminology also has changed. Sixer has become maximum and that became DLF maximum. For the innovative person there are lots of ways and means of making his products and services get registered in the minds of the customer.

Cricket Fans - The Fickle Gods

Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India

Fans - the word that excites the cricket players through the world. It is said that playing cricket before 1,00,000 fans in Eden Gardens, Kolkata is an experience so exhilarating that even the great Vivian Richards cites it as high light of his career. 

Fans enlighten the procedure and motivate the players to perform better by their continuous chanting, waving of flags, Mexican wave and clapping. The fans adore the team that they support and are ready to give life and limb. But they are fickle gods. They support the team as long as the team is doing well. The minute the team is not performing to their expectations the adoration turns to anger and violence.

We have had instances of Irate Ranchi fans stoning the house of the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Pakistani captain suffered the same fate. Recently in Bangladesh the West Indies cricket team bus was mistakenly stoned by irritated fans. The fans thought the bus was carrying the Bangladeshi cricket team! There was also an instance of a fan slapping Greg Chappel the then Indian cricket coach for not selecting a player that he (the fan) liked.

One interesting point to note is that the huge craze and the fan following exists mostly in the Indian sub continent and it is in the Indian sub continent that the fans change their moods easily and turn violent. The entire Kolkata crowd erupted in anger when India started losing to Sri Lanka in the 1996 cricket world cup.

The match had to be forfeited and the image of a sobbing Vinod Kambli walking away from the field left even the most stone heated person’s eyes misty with tears. Check out the famous cricket fans from around the world.

Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary also called as Sudhir Kumar Gautam) is a avid die hard cricket supporter of the Indian cricket team. He first came into lime light by showing up at every match played in India. His entire body was painted in the national colors.

Chaudhary is a devoted fan of Sachin Tendulkar and it has been said Tendulkar provides him with tickets for the all the matches. He has become a celebrity has is seen waving the national flag in the live telecast of the cricket matches. By April 2010 he is reportedly attended nearly 150 matches, often travelling by bicycle.

Chaudhry Abdul Jalil also called Chacha Cricket (uncle cricket) is one of Pakistan's most ardent and famous cricket fans

Jalil is regularly seen as a spectator at cricket matches involving Pakistan. He is easily recognized by his white beard, his full green shalwar kameez dress and his white cap decorated with a sequined star and crescent moon. He is always sporting a Pakistani flag.

Jalil was working in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He gained popularity by regularly attending cricket matches held in Sharjah wearing a green dress with a white star and crescent on it. As he became more famous, the Pakistan Cricket Board hired him and currently sponsors him to travel around the world following the Pakistan team.

The Barmy Army is a group of English cricket fans which arranges touring parties for some of its members to follow the English cricket team on overseas tours. The name is also applied to followers of the team who join in with match day activities in the crowd, but do not necessarily travel as part of an organized tour.

Barmy army name was given by the Australian media during the 1994-1995 Test series in Australia. The Barmy Army claims it wants to "make watching cricket more fun and much more popular". The group uses flags, banners, songs and chants to encourage the team and crowd participation in their activities.

Australian Fans

Carribean Fans

On the other hand  the fans in Australia are more laid back. For the Australians watching a cricket match is more like attending a carnival. They booze, enjoy themselves and tan below the sun. The slogans and captions written on banners by the Australians are very interesting and thought provoking. The fans in the Caribbean Islands come to a party when they watch a cricket match. There is continuous chanting, dancing and of course lots of boozing.

India and cricket - made for each other

 

Indians have taken to cricket like a duck takes to water. This was one sport that was invented for Indians. It’s leisurely way of progress, it’s funny rules and interpretation of the rules, the way the game is played and the way the game can suddenly change, the emphasis of individual brilliance and the beauty that there might not be a result even after five days of play was right up the street of the Indians. The game of cricket was proving the Karma theory right. “Do your duty without expecting the results. The result would be taken care off”.

 

Thus it is not surprising that Indians who take many a injustice lying down which are being inflicted upon them stoically react wit alacrity and fury once the holy grail of cricket is touched. The instant branding of Mike Denniss as “Denniss the Menace” vouches for the fact. Mike Dennis was the Match adjudicator who had handed out heavy fines for the Indian cricket players for their concerted appealing during their tour of South Africa.

The interest created by the betting scandal, or in Sachin’s back or his feet proves the fact that for Indians cricket is no longer a game. It is a religion. If cricket is a religion then Sachin is the god! It does not come as a great surprise that one of the biggest blockbuster hits of Indian film history 'lagaan' is a masala movie that has village simpletons playing cricket. Quite naturally the village simpletons win against the suave and sophisticated Englishmen. The movie Lagaan was nominated for the Oscars. The members of the Motion pictures association of America found the movie to be too long, the sport too strange to digest and the songs and dance too funny! A cocktail of concoctions that they simply could not digest.

The author can remember bygone days when he along with his father would tune breathlessly late in the night or early in the morning to catch the squeaky sounds emanating from the radio to catch the cricket commentary coming from the Caribbean Islands. The excitement of G. R. Vishnwanth cracking an exquisite square drive or a delicate late cut was something that is etched in my mind. 

I also remember watching live a match between Sri Lanka and India that was played in Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium at Hyderabad. All I remember is the roaring of the crowds and the banana peels that they threw at each other. I do not remember any cricket action. We were seated very high in the gallery and could hardly catch any action. We also did not have a radio. There was no way we could know the score. But the experience was exhilarating.

The way we watch cricket also has changed. The game has changed and how! The boisterous crowds, the flamboyant players, media savvy cricket managers, the game has transformed itself. One day cricket introduced colored clothing. Once sniggered as pyjama cricket one day cricket was the fore runner of the hugely popular 20/20 cricket. The way we watched cricket also has also undergone metamorphosis. 14 to 20 cameras slow motion replays, cameras panning the crowds, the venue being marketed as a tourist destination, you have it all.

India and cricket

Why does a grownup man become soft and mushy when India is on the threshold of a win in cricket? Why is that even the tough to crack soldiers rejoice India’s victory over its famed neighbor in cricket as if it is a win in a war. Why that is there is a hushed silence whenever Sachin is on his way to a century? Why do we mourn Sachin's dismissal in the nervous nineties as if it is a national disaster?

Welcome to cricket. The game that is full of idiosyncrasies that the British had left for the Indians. In which other game do you find China man, short leg, long leg or many other queer words that puzzle many people?

During the 2003 world cup I was working in Ethiopia. Ethiopians do not play cricket all. They love football and especially the English Premier League. The Indians in Bahirdar had a contract with a local hotelier to show all the matches featuring India. The Indians flocking to the hotel made the local Ethiopians very curious. They would make a beeline to the hotel and would sit facing the Indians. They never could understand how anyone could watch a game that is so slow (mind you we were watching one day cricket and not test cricket). If we were watching five day cricket the local Ethiopians would have been bored to death. They had branded the Indians as mad hatters. They could never understand how sane men could watch a game where there were no goals at all. 

The game is so laid back that in the 30s and 40s that once the watching royalty remarked to his friend who returned after being run out "why did you have to run like that? You could have asked your servant to run for you and you could have just played the shots”. 

The Americans have dismissed the game of cricket as a sort of a joke. For a nation which is always on the move and prides itself on the idea of timeliness and practicality the game of cricket was a tattoo. It was unfathomable to an American that one had to watch a game for five day without having a result. One can’t really blame the Americans. They have made changes to many sports to make them spectator friendly entertaining and exciting. 

The rugged action of the American football is a silent endorser of the rough and tumble, body crunching and bone crushing contact sports that the Americans love. Slam, bang and bones have to break!

The most loved game of all – Ice hockey. Ice hockey allows pushing, punching and hitting the opponents as long as the violence is not severe enough!. The other most popular game basketball has the players dunking the ball (Slamming the basket ball into the net like the smash in volleyball).

Funnily there are traces of cricket in America. Base ball has runs, innings and many other commonalities like the OUT (the player going out of the game). This shows that the English have taken the game of cricket to America but somewhere down the line the game got morphed into baseball.