CEAT’s T20 World Cup campaign with Zoya Akhtar champions control over chaos

On most action film sets, a director demands chaos. Smoke. Screeching tyres. A car that slides just enough to make the audience grip their seats.

In CEAT’s latest campaign, the chaos refuses to cooperate.

Instead, the car holds its line. The skid that filmmaker Zoya Akhtar is trying to choreograph simply does not happen. The tyres grip. The surface shifts from dry asphalt to rain-soaked stretches to loose gravel. Still, no dramatic loss of control. For a category that often sells thrills, this is a film about restraint.

The campaign pivots on a tightly observed insight. On Indian roads, performance is rarely about cinematic extremes. It is about the half metre that can prevent a collision. The fraction of a second that changes a manoeuvre. The quiet consistency that allows a driver to feel in control even when the terrain is not.

Conceptualised and executed by Ogilvy India, the 92-second film takes an unexpectedly meta route.

Akhtar, playing herself, attempts to capture the perfect high-intensity skid for a movie scene. She calls for retake after retake as the car is pushed through varied road conditions. Yet the tyres refuse to give way. The narrative flips expectation. Instead of glorifying danger, it touts precision.

Lakshmi Narayanan B, chief marketing officer at CEAT, says the creative stems from a broader shift in Indian driving behaviour.

“India is now aspirational,” he says. “With infrastructure growth, there is a lot of opportunity to drive on highways, at higher speeds, across multiple terrains. The migration is from cautious driving towards more confident driving. That shift needed to come out in the advertising.”

According to him, grip was non-negotiable in the brief. “Product was at the centre. Especially grip. That was absolutely right at the top.”

The decision to cast Akhtar, rather than a conventional action filmmaker, was deliberate. “The new India is not just confident, but subtly confident,” Narayanan says. “Zoya brings that character very strongly. Other directors were also under consideration, but we went with her because she has got the charm of the new aspiration in India. In that, the kind of work she chooses, and given how selective she is about what she does.”

The film is directed by Shashanka Chaturvedi, also known as Bob, and shot across expansive landscapes in Baku, Azerbaijan. The international location lends cinematic scale, though Narayanan links it as much to aspiration as aesthetics.

“As we drive on Indian roads today, we expect everything to be of international scale,” he says. “It is not just about putting across a global ad for a global India, but also ensuring that our global products are equally accessible.”

Cricket, a three-decade constant

If the creative choice signals evolution, cricket signals continuity.

Few Indian brands have woven themselves into the sport’s commercial fabric as consistently as CEAT. The company’s association with cricket spans nearly three decades, covering everything from international tournaments to domestic leagues and broadcast integrations.

The CEAT Cricket Ratings, a premier annual international cricket rating system established in 1995 that evaluates and rewards top performers in Test, ODI, and T20 formats based on a points-based system, has helped cement its presence in the sport’s ecosystem long before digital amplification became the norm.

More recently, CEAT has been closely associated with the strategic time-out in the Indian Premier League, a property that ensures repeated brand visibility at crucial match junctures. “We would probably be entering our 12th year of association,” Narayanan says. “That only moves from strength to strength.”

For 2026, the immediate focus is the T20 World Cup, with the campaign rolling out during the tournament. “Indian consumers today are pretty much on digital,” Narayanan says.

“Starting from social media to other platforms. We also recognise the power that connected television brings. That is going to be our way ahead, at least for the T20 World Cup.”

He describes the approach as digital first, with cricket acting as the amplification engine. The IPL will follow. “T20 World Cup is our first port of call. We will definitely leverage IPL as well,” he says, adding that extensions of the campaign are still being built out.

On the endorsement front, Narayanan clarifies that CEAT continues its long-standing association with Rohit Sharma. “It has been more than a decade-long association,” he says. “It is a partnership we really value.” The brand also works with Harmanpreet Kaur in women’s cricket.

While Akhtar fronts the current film, Narayanan suggests cricket ambassadors remain central to the brand’s storytelling. “Rohit has a fan following, whether he is on the ground or off the ground. That is something we want to cherish,” he says.

From highways to high-CC bikes

Beyond communication, CEAT’s 2026 agenda is rooted in product expansion and shifting consumer expectations.

Narayanan identifies two core levers. The first is extending the communication philosophy of the campaign across categories, not just passenger cars. The second is pushing further into the premium superbike segment.

“We are expanding in the premium superbike ecosystem,” he says. “Currently we are up to 650 CC. Once we move up to 1000 CC plus, we would be in a position to build communication for that.”

He also notes the introduction of European tyre ranges in India, including products suited for snow and mixed terrains. “India largely uses summer tyres,” he says.

“We are keen to bring our European range as well.” Increased travel to snow-heavy regions such as Manali and Kashmir, aided by improved road infrastructure, is part of that calculus.

As for consumer trends, Narayanan observes two parallel shifts. One is media consumption. “Digitally, people are spending far more time. It is not just limited to handheld phones. It is also on connected television,” he says.

The second is a more discerning approach to performance. “Whether you look at SUVs or high-powered bikes, consumers want tyres that truly match the capability of the vehicle,” he says. Speed ratings, noise levels and wet braking are now part of mainstream consideration.

On pricing, he is pragmatic. “Consumers want value more than price,” he says. “As long as there is performance, that is where they see value.”