How Hyundai is blending fandom, CTV and full-funnel goals this T20 World Cup

Hyundai Motor India Limited’s latest campaign for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup arrives with a familiar roar but looks decisively away from the pitch. Instead of focusing its story on cover drives, yorkers or the cult of individual cricketers, the brand chooses to shine the spotlight on fans.

Launched as part of Hyundai’s two-year global premier partnership with the International Cricket Council, the campaign is fronted by Shah Rukh Khan and anchored in a simple but emotionally loaded thought. Cricket in India is not watched; it is lived.

Betting on fandom, not hero worship

Directed by filmmaker Vasan Bala, known for Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, Monica, O My Darling and Jigra, the film draws on 1990s nostalgia by reimagining the iconic track Yeh Dil Deewana from Khan’s cult classic Pardes.

The choice anchors the film in a familiar emotional space, one that instantly recalls how cricket and popular culture have long moved in sync in India.

The narrative stems from the way a single moment on the pitch can unite millions and bring the country to a standstill. Hyundai places itself within those shared emotional peaks, positioning the brand as a constant companion to fans, echoing every cheer and celebrating every triumph.

The parallel is clear. Just as cricket binds the nation together, Hyundai seeks to move with the same energy that moves India. It is a deliberate departure from the sportsperson-led playbook that dominates much of cricket advertising in India.

Virat Khullar, head of marketing at HMIL, acknowledges this, saying the communication is “not so much about the sportsmen, but about how when a tournament like this enters our subcontinent, we become heavily passionate, and how Hyundai is a partner in that passion”.

Where cricket fits into Hyundai’s India playbook

The campaign also fits neatly into Hyundai’s larger sports and cricket marketing playbook in India.

Globally, the brand has long aligned itself with high-impact sporting properties, from the FIFA World Cup, where it has acted as an official top partner since 1999, to motorsports. In India, cricket remains the central pillar of that strategy, owing to its unparalleled reach and cultural relevance.

The latest ICC partnership, signed in December last year, allows Hyundai to tap into cricket’s global scale while retaining a distinctly Indian emotional lens. With nearly 60% of India’s population identifying as cricket fans, the sport offers both reach and resonance in equal measure.

That emotional play comes at a time when Hyundai’s business momentum in India remains strong. The company clocked its highest-ever monthly sales in January 2026, selling 73,137 units across domestic and export markets, marking an 11.5% year-on-year increase.

Domestic sales alone touched a record 59,107 units, driven largely by SUVs such as the Creta and Venue, which now account for nearly 70% of Hyundai’s total sales.

As of early 2026, Hyundai commands roughly 12.5 to 12.7% of India’s passenger vehicle market, retaining its position as the country’s second-largest carmaker, albeit in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Khullar explains that the ICC partnership is not just about visibility but about building long-term emotional equity. He says the aim is to bring fans closer to the game they love, while creating memorable Hyundai brand experiences that go beyond logo placements and broadcast sponsorships.

Full-funnel ambition and a big bet on CTV

While the campaign may read as corporate in tone, Hyundai is careful not to detach it from commercial outcomes. Responding to questions on the absence of overt product messaging, Khullar says the campaign operates across the full funnel.

He explains that while it builds salience and top-of-mind awareness, it is also supported by measurable bottom-funnel initiatives, including a strong nationwide test-drive programme that the brand monitors closely.

“The actions that we are going to do on the ground, we are going to do on CTV and on air, and at our retail outlets will be full funnel,” he says, adding that the campaign is designed to build “awareness, building salience, building consideration, and also building purchase intention.”

Khullar stresses that the brand is actively tracking performance-linked metrics alongside brand health scores. “We have got different KPIs for different metrics in marketing,” he says. “We are monitoring test drive numbers, growth over the last quarter, and as today is the last day of the month, I am very happy with the results.”

While positioned as a corporate campaign, the execution does not entirely step away from product visibility. Creta, Hyundai’s flagship model and one of the biggest contributors to its recent SUV-led growth, is subtly embedded across the campaign ecosystem.

“As you see, we have featured Creta in the campaign, in the TVC,” Khullar says, adding that the model will also be displayed across stadiums and Trophy Connect mall activations.

Calling it a “pillar model” and “a flagship of the brand right now”, he says Hyundai is leading with Creta while still ensuring the campaign does not remain confined to top-funnel objectives. “We are not just leaving it at top-funnel metrics,” he says.

A significant pillar of the campaign is Hyundai’s sharp focus on connected television, reflecting changing content consumption patterns among premium audiences. Khullar says that while high-definition linear television once served as a proxy for affluent targeting, the rapid rise of OTT and connected TV households has reshaped media planning.

“We have seen with the explosion of OTT and cord cutters, the CTV households jumping year on year,” he says. “If we are selling products from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh as our average, I think that will be the right audience to target.”

As part of its ICC partnership via JioStar, Hyundai is running 20-second and 10-second creatives across all 55 matches, supported by additional surround integrations. Beyond this, the brand is experimenting with what Khullar describes as a first-of-its-kind AI-led contextual advertising play on CTV. “This is the first time it is happening for anybody, not only for cars,” he says.

The innovation allows Hyundai to serve ads referencing key match moments to viewers who may not be watching cricket at that time, but are consuming content on other platforms via smart TVs.

Khullar is clear that the intent is relevance rather than disruption. “This will come as a native ad,” he says. “Somebody is watching a YouTube video or some other content on a Samsung TV or LG TV, maybe a news channel, and it comes as a regular advertisement.”

He argues that the contextual layer could make the communication feel more meaningful than standard commercial messaging. “It actually gives you good news in a way,” Khullar says. “It may be the most relevant ad that people generally see versus the other advertising that comes.”

Beyond screens, the campaign extends into dealerships and physical spaces. More than 600 Hyundai outlets across India have been dressed with ICC-themed branding, co-branded displays and fan engagement zones.

Khullar reiterates that the intent is to deliver the same experience offline that consumers encounter online.

“It is important that they get the same experience offline at our dealership, what they are seeing online on the brand pages,” he says.

Taken together, the campaign reflects Hyundai’s attempt to balance emotion with accountability. As Khullar puts it, it is a “360-degree fully activated ecosystem” that brings together media, retail, employees and consumers.

In a World Cup cluttered with celebrity-heavy endorsements and loud brand cues, Hyundai’s decision to foreground the fan, while quietly measuring outcomes across the funnel, signals a campaign that is as calculated as it is emotional.