PEPSI is brilliant.
They've finally cracked a way to keep their feel-good cricket ads, even when we lose.
Their response to India's disappointing exit from the ICC Champion's trophy is a syrupy ad film featuring an angry old man, an optimistic young boy, and India T-shirt, and oodles of pop-sentimentality. No doubt you've seen it.
Now, they no longer have to look stupid when their highly paid brand ambassadors fail to live up to their reputations on the field. And no longer have to bear the brunt of the negative-publicity backlash that is otherwise inevitable in these situations.
Personally, it makes me cringe, but it's sound advertising strategy. They're actually gaining positive brand momentum, turning defeat into victory (for the brand, that is. We're still some way away from doing that for the team).
Why did it take them so long to come up with something like this?
How about Airtel dropping Sachin? Apparently Dhoni, Yuvraj, Pathan and Sehwag may not have very many endorsement contract renewals coming their way post-World Cup 2008.
ReplyDeleteIt appears (rather obviously, in retrospect) that cricket, rather than cricketers, is the key advertising vehicle for the Indian masses. Even when the cricket is buried in mediocrity.