img source:google.com
Famous Cricketers And Their Brand Associations
In India, cricketers are worshipped like gods. When they walk into the Indian dressing room, they hardly have a clue about the fact that soon they would turn into the biggest brand values in the country. They come in as newbies with only one dream – playing for the nation. Many cricketers come and go but only a few make their mark as one of the greatest influencers in the advertisement industry. It could be their reliable batting, aggressive bowling, the skill of leadership, or their fashion sense. The advertisement industry looks for a quality that the people of the country love about a particular player and then that would go on to become the whole plot of an ad campaign.
For example –
• Dhoni is known for his reliability and his leadership, people trust him as a successful captain.
• Virat Kohli is known for his aggressive batting and his fashion sense, people love the way he goes about his game and also love everything he wears.
India being a cricket-frenzy nation, it was never difficult for the Advertisers and sponsors to rope in the Indian players and run ad campaigns worth billions of Indian money. It is interesting to see how various brands targeted several cricketers and ran ad campaigns which were so apt that we cannot imagine any other player doing it.
Let us take a dive into the history and check out 5 most famous Indian cricketers from their respective era and the ad campaigns they were a part of:
1. Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar Gavaskar is regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in Test cricket history. He set world records during his career for the most Test Runs and the most test centuries by any batsman. He held the world record of 34 test hundreds for almost two decades before Sachin Tendulkar broke it in 2005. He became the first world-class icon in Cricket for India who pioneered the fearless batting attitude. People looked up to him as one of the greatest players to have played the game.
Notable advertisements: Thums up, Dinesh suiting, IODEX, RX100 bike, and Forhan’s Toothpaste
img source:google.com
2. Sachin Tendulkar
Anybody who knows anything about cricket knows what Sachin Tendulkar means to cricket. He is known as the greatest batsman India has ever produced and one of the greatest batsmen in the world. Sachin is the only batsman to have scored 100 international centuries and the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International (ODI). He is also the holder of the record for the most runs in both Test and ODI cricket, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket. The people of India have always looked up to him as their hero and as the greatest sports icon of the country. At the peak of his career, he almost had his hands on all the big brands of the country.
Notable advertisements: Britannia, Pepsi, Boost, Toshiba, Castrol, Reynolds, Jaypee cement, Livpure, Aviva life insurance and many more
img source:google.com
3. Rahul Dravid
Popularly known as the Great Wall or The Wall by Indian cricket followers, Rahul Dravid is another cricket icon people of India will not stop talking about. He is a former captain, a responsible batsman, a successful coach, and mentor and one of the greats who played during the golden era of Indian cricket. The ‘Wall’ has nearly 25,000 runs in international cricket and is globally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is known as Mr. Dependable of Indian Cricket. He was also one the best-looking cricketer of his times.
Notable advertisements: Sansui, Gillet, Reebok, Videocon, No more tobacco campaign, Pepsi, Karnataka election campaign, and so on.
img source:google.com
4. MS Dhoni
He is known as the most prolific captain to lead the Indian side. MS Dhoni is the only captain in the long history of Cricket to win all ICC Championships. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India went on to win the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the 2010 and 2016 Asia Cups, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Dhoni came into the team with a refreshing energy and a mind like no other player in the world. Critics believe that he is probably the most intelligent cricketer of modern times. Fans call him ‘Captain Cool’ because of his calm demeanor and his ability to handle the toughest of situations. At the peak of his career, he had the most number of brands under his name as a cricketer.
Notable brands: Cars 24, Indian Terrain, Red Bus, Colgate, Panerai, LivFast, Indigo Paints, GoDaddy, Bharat Matrimony, Master card India, Snickers India, Orient, and the list goes on and on.
img source:google.com
5. Virat Kohli
If you think MS Dhoni’s endorsements list is long then you’ll be surprised to know that the current Indian captain has put all comparisons to rest and in the present day, he is the cricketer with most brands under his name. Virat is the best batsman in the world by far and is only 7 hundred behind Sachin in ODIs, but he is not just known for his exceptional batting skills but also his dashing looks. He has been reckoned as one of the best-looking Indian men by several fashion magazines.
Notable brands: Fasttrack, Too yummy, Gionee, Colgate, Hero MotoCorp, American Tourister, Philips India, Sun Pharma, Vicks India, Royal Challenge Alcohol, Remit 2, Valvoline and many more.
img source:google.com
Cricketers have always been important influencers in a country like India, where people just cannot get over two things – Cricket and Bollywood. Which ad campaign did You love as a kid? Which ad campaigns are your current favorites? Let us know in the comments below!
