IPL 2013: Shake a leg!

Pepsi IPL 2013 is set to start on April 3 and if Max's pre-event campaign is to be taken seriously, that leaves fans with less than a month to perfect their dance moves.

Quite aptly, the catchphrase is 'Sirf Dekhneka Nahi', which is Hindi slang for 'Don't just watch the game'. The campaign is based on the insight that since cricket is more than just a 'game' in India, viewers ought to shed their inhibitions and celebrate their team's winning moves. In the words of Neeraj Vyas, executive vice-president and business head, SET Max, a "cricket crazy nation like ours needs to be more involved in the game than being mere onlookers."

The campaign is directed by Rajesh Saathi of Keroscene Films and the music is composed by Vishal and Shekhar, a popular director-singer duo in Bollywood.

The campaign broke a few days back and will run till the start of the tournament, giving it a total of six weeks to be on air. Outdoor communication will be visible after March 22. The campaign will extend to print, radio, digital, mobile and BTL (below the line) platforms.

Last year, JWT's pre-IPL campaign for SET Max showed how IPL-viewers bond over the game. Launched around the same year, Ogilvy's 'Yeh IPL Hai Boss!' campaign for brand IPL brought out the magic of the game; it was set in a fantasy-like amusement park full of rides and games that symbolise ace cricketers' pet moves on the field, such as 'Dhoni Dhamaal', 'Vettori Twirler', 'Viru Whammer', 'Slinga Malinga', 'Pathan Pounder', 'Gilly Funda' and 'Master Blaster'.

JWT's current film reminds one of the agency's recent film for Pepsi that positioned the T20 format as a 'battameez' or rowdy game in which both the players as well the audiences resort to unruly yet passionate behaviour. When quizzed on this similarity, Bobby Pawar, chief creative officer and managing partner, JWT India, tells afaqs!, "Yes but the two are different in the sense that the Pepsi ad is more of a commentary on the sport as opposed to this one for Max that's a campaign that tries to build behaviour."

Going on about the current campaign, Pawar says, "It was about adding pop culture moments to the game itself and converting viewers into cheerleaders."

Foot-tapping?

The campaign has garnered varying views from ad-folk. While experts recognise that this time the focus is on making the communication more participative, they differ in their views from a strategy perspective.

Upputuru goes on to explain, "If there is a problem with these films it is strategic: There's nothing 'IPL' about it. The 'Ladies' film actually exposes this chink. These ladies could be watching a test match for the sake of ogling at cute players. They are not interested in the fall of the wicket," he says.

While pointing out that this is barely the first time a brand has used dance moves as a 'campaign hook' idea, he nonetheless admits that the moves have the potential to engage IPL fans. The films, he adds, make for "good popular genre" material with a good cast and good acting. "Using Farah Khan as choreographer is a good idea, though the puns are a bit too forced at times," he says.

For Sean Colaco, managing partner, Utopeia, the broad platform of 'cricket as not cricket, but entertainment' stays true to IPL.

He observes that this year, the attempt is to take on-field entertainment off-field, into homes and offices. "So in that respect," reasons Colaco, "it is a strategic step forward."

While he feels the line 'Sirf Dekhneka Nahi' has possibilities across consumer touch-points, he adds, nonetheless, "I am not too sure if people need to be 'trained' to celebrate the game as they find their own unique ways to do that in any case. That notwithstanding, I think the celebrity quotient of Farah Khan, her 'dance master' moves, ladies shaking their behinds and over-the-top performances is exactly what the IPL is all about."