Is it an ad? Is it a promo video for Red Bull?

On the last day of 2018, we woke up to a video – quickly gaining currency in the world of WhatsApp sharing – of badminton players Ashwini Ponappa and Kidambi Srikanth playing a prank of a bunch of youngsters. The baddy stars, dress up as old... wait a minute, why don't you watch it yourself? Here's the video.

A Red Bull logo appears at the end of the film; we also found the video on the brand's official website. There's a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of Ponappa sipping from a Red Bull can in the first few seconds of the video.

On the brand's website, the text below the video reads: “Indian badminton Men's Singles star Kidambi Srikanth and Women's doubles and mixed doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa wear a disguise to play a prank with the trainees at Garuda Badminton Academy, Hyderabad. The two 2 top badminton athletes Ashwini and Kidambi are currently playing in the Premier Badminton League representing Awadhe warriors and Bengaluru Raptors respectively.”

We've seen footballer Cristiano Ronaldo do something similar in the past. Closer to home, there's a less inspiring video of cricketer Saurav Ganguly donning a disguise for a Pizza Hut activation.