ICC Men's Cricket World Cup advertising: 7 Hits and misses in 2023

Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah in a Zepto ad released during ODI World Cup 2023. Zepto's “delivery at Bumrah speed” campaign is possibly the finest product-ambassador fit in a long long time. (Screen grab/YouTube)

The biggest day in cricketing terms, arrives on the heels of hysteria and nervous anticipation. India has been the favourite to win before. And here we are again. Which makes this just the moment to cash in on with both sentiment and enthusiasm. Cricket fans might have lapsed over the years, but the World Cup remains that axiomatic meeting point of passion, celebration and so much that vaguely defines ‘Indianness’. It’s precisely why brands are prepared to pay through the nose for ad spots during the tourney.

Much like internet fame, however, advertising is an inexact science. It can soar unexpectedly, dive unapologetically and disappear from the radar without so much as registering a beep. A large chunk of this year’s WC inventory was sold ahead of the tournament which means the Indian team has not only delivered on the field, but even through the proverbial cash register. As the tournament winds down with a fitting finale, and inflated 10-second rates (in the range of Rs 25 lakh), here are some hits and misses from what we’ve seen this tournament.

1. Policybazaar’s Kapil Sharma Card

Kapil Sharma might not be popular with woke Indians, but to middle-aged men and women on the fence about buying insurance, he is possibly that ideal, accessible voice. These 15-second spots merge both message and Sharma’s nonchalant humour in what is the epitome of lithe campaigns where the messenger, is part of the language of the message. Sharma is the middle-class’ favourite comedian and here he plays that perfect foil for a conversation directed at precisely that category.

2. Zepto’s ideal marriage of product and character

The “delivery at Bumrah speed” campaign by Zepto is possibly the finest product-ambassador fit we’ve seen in a long long time. On paper, commissioning a sportsman to do a spot during an ongoing tournament carries the risk recouping both victory and loss. Jasprit Bumrah isn’t the most media savvy of all India’s cricketers, but he is surely one of the most bankable. His appetite for speed and accuracy is the perfect conduit for a delivery service that introduced once-considered-impossible (much like a bowler of Bumrah’s ilk) 10-minute delivery.

3. Sachin Tendulkar’s Timelessness by Spinny

World Cup or not, Sachin’s longevity as a brand magnet remains unparalleled. That voice, the unassuming demeanour is so etched in Indian memory that it is practically a living form of collective heritage. The use of a classic song, of unpretentious everyday backyards and moments exchanged with a friend feel like the punch-drunk image of the past that Sachin now emblematises. How fitting, for the man who convinced us to believe in greatness to also become the messenger of longevity. That a car might be born once, but it can live different lives.

4. Livspace’s Virushka non-moment

The it-couple of the moment appear in a couple of spots for interior décor brand Livspace. A wardrobe is taken over by the rust ghoul, but the cupboard is so comically unsalvageable that the ghoul can’t even step out to haunt or horrify freely. It is slapstick done right, but Sharma is given little to do while Kohli sports a turban for no particular reason. It’s effective as mime, but also puzzling for the lack of use of celebrity and their respective personalities.

5. Vicks and Yuvraj Singh’s inner voice

The celebrated cricketer and embodiment of a survival story, bats for those who can’t hear in a narrative that though on the money in terms of message and the vessel delivering it, doesn’t exactly use his celebrity to engaging effect. It’s still a hit for the joyous abandon of the imagery conceived, the music it is tuned to and of course the illuminating, life-affirming intent of it all.

6. Dravid’s uninspiring return with MAK Lubricant

The 40-second spots dredged up by MAK are evidence of campaigns dished out in haste, bogged down by functional specificities and alarmingly poor use of a man, who not too long ago was the advertising world’s darling. Rahul Dravid appears out of nowhere, delivers some engine oil spiel and disappears. It’s made amenable by the actors, but it does little with the ‘great wall of India’s’ timid, quiet personality except underline it for the nth time. It’s uninspiring and for the money it must have cost to make, a ball unceremoniously dropped.

7. Zomato’s sobriety with a Chris Gayle-Ranveer Singh combo

You’d probably think Ranveer Singh’s energy and Chris Gayle’s candour are perfect ingredients for a frenetic, tiptoeing narrative full of swagger and verve. “Is it Zomato or Zomaato” is a fun self-referential fulcrum, but it neither uses its subjects nor their disparate but fascinating personalities to the fullest. It’s the kind of ad that might build social equity for a brand, ride the coattails of an empathetic moment, but barely utilises the explosive devices at its disposal. Ranveer Singh might be reinventing himself, but this underwhelming narrative appeal by a brand known for its tongue-in-cheek quality, feels like a calamitous miss.