Opinion: How brands are favoring cricketers over Bollywood celebrities

In Dream11’s last IPL campaign, Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi and R Madhavan had a huge gripe with the Indian cricketers. The actors were worried about all the ads that the cricketers were featuring in. The cricketers seemed to be out to eat the actors’ lunches. Well, sadly for Aamir and other Bollywood celebrities, they do seem to have a problem on their hands.

For years, many brands went for the classic choice when it came to choosing celebrities as endorsers. And even today, cricketers are quite often the go-to-choice for brands, and it really shouldn’t be a surprise as to why.

Like it is with the Super Bowl in America, advertising here too has found its place to shine. Tentpole events like the IPL, the World Cup, Asia Cup, heck even Australia’s tour of India, have resulted in quick briefs being issued to advertising agencies. And with the sport still commanding a more than decent viewership, it makes complete sense to sell products to cricket lovers with the help of cricketers.

Interestingly, what also heavily works in their favour over Bollywood celebrities is the fact that they cut across all markets. Ayyapan sitting in Madurai might not give a hoot about Siddharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, but hell, he will probably sit up and take notice if Rohit Sharma was the one doing the talking about industrial steel bars. The IPL has only added to this spread of relevance. Dhoni is a God in Chennai and Kannadigas have embraced Virat from West Delhi as a Bangalorean.

Another reason brands often choose cricketers over Bollywood celebrities is probably because of a word that manages to find its way into most brand documents: Authentic. When it comes to a cricketer, the heroism feels tangible. Add in a tadka of patriotism, as they represent the country, they for sure feel like real heroes over the reel heroes. And with an undercurrent of the Twitter fuelled #boycottbollywood emotion, our real heroes are also becoming a safer choice for brands.

The pull isn’t limited to present day cricketers. Just like the trend of choosing celebrities from the past to satisfy nostalgia-craving-millennials, yesteryear cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid have also found a place on the screen. From being kidnapped in ads to becoming ‘Indiranagar ka gunda’; cricketers seem to be in the thick of all the action even after retirement.

Funnily, Aamir Khan had quipped to Rohit Sharma in Dream11’s campaign: “Ads mein acting karne se koi actor nahin bann jaata.”

And that’s the thing. Cricketers today aren’t just acting and performing in ads. With increased following on social media platforms and a hunger for bite sized content and engagement, cricketers are putting up performances online too. Be it Shreyas and Yuzi dancing away or Shikar Dhawan lip syncing to viral videos; Aamir couldn’t be further away from the truth. So, expect to see more of Rohit, Virat, Hardik and gang, ON and OFF the field. For a few years now they have been saying, “Yeh main kar leta hoon” to unsuspecting people in the Dream11 ads. Don’t be surprised to see them say, “Yeh ad mein kar leta hoon” to unsuspecting celebrities soon.

This article is penned by Adarsh Atal, Chief Creative Officer, Tilt Brand Solutions 

Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.