The first of its kind showdown campaign kicked off a few days ago. It covers all 21 circles of Airtel. This campaign will give an opportunity to Airtel's existing and new (postpaid and prepaid) customers of all ages, backgrounds and regions to come together, join the team play with their favorite superstar, Sachin or Shahrukh.

A customer needs to use his Airtel mobile phone and dial 646 or send an SMS "sd" to the same number to select their choice of star. Depending upon an Airtel customer's mobile usage, rewards in the form of "Tickets" are earned by them. A lucky draw of 150 winners would then be taken out of these tickets. The more the number of tickets earned by an Airtel customer greater are his chance to be a part of the winner list.

The Airtel Showdown will last till 30 April 2005. Every Airtel circle will announce 100 lucky winners every fortnight from each of the 21 circles and the selection will be at random on the basis of a computer based lucky draw. There will be three fortnightly draws resulting in a total of 300 lucky winners for the regional finals in each circle. From these 300 winners in every circle, each circle will select at least six winners on an average at the end of six weeks on the basis of a lucky draw resulting in a total of approximately 150 finalists divided equally into Team Shahrukh and Team Sachin.

The 150 finalists will be taken to Mumbai for the grand finale to team up with Sachin and Shahrukh. At the finals these 150 winners would be split into two teams and they will participate in fun filled games under the captaincy of the stars.

The Airtel Showdown campaign has been backed by extensive internal research findings. Research data clearly suggests that primarily Bollywood and cricket drives the Indian consumer segment and forms the most popular inspirational icons of self-expression for people of all age groups across the country.

Qualitative and quantitative studies have shown that Shahrukh Khan's core values of being a self made actor with his success and glamour and Sachin Tendulkar's dedication, innocence and performance today are seen as a driver of self-identification amongst the masses. All the core values of the two superstars have emerged as a clear brand fit for Airtel, which stands for leadership, trust and innovation leading to a clear connect between Airtel and it's customers. What makes these values even more relevant is its "All India" appeal, quite like the "All India" footprint of Airtel mobile service.

Bharti Cellular chief marketing officer and director Atul Bindal said, "Our research has shown that the most popular, inspirational icons for the Indian consumer happens to the two Airtel brand ambassadors - Sachin and Shahrukh. This motivated us to devise Airtel Showdown an innovative marketing programme. The whole construct of the initiative seeks to bring our customers, now spanning across all the 21 circles to come closer to brand "Airtel - the largest GSM network in the country."