MUMBAI: With less than a month to go for the biggest sporting event of the year the Cricket World Cup to start in the West Indies Max is putting the final touches to its marketing campaign.

Over the past few weeks it has been airing a series of countdown spots. Now its main spot breaks on 25 February 2007. Max VP marketing T. Gangadhar says that in total around 3000 spots will air not just on Sony's channels but on other players as well.
"The theme of the campaign is Come, Play. Play is about the game and also about the fun, carnival atmosphere that one associates with the West Indies. The people in the ad will be wearing the jerseys of different countries. The aim is to celebrate the sport which for the West Indies is bigger than an individual player or a country. The West Indian ethos is that the game is supreme. We have captured that spirit."

He adds that the campaign was conceived keeping in mind the fact that the West Indians enjoy the sport in a laidback manner. The scene of course is different in India where people have a more serious demeanour. Gangadhar adds that the West Indians will also be supporting other teams besides the home team which is why jerseys of different countries are shown.

Max is also doing a signature campaign. The channel is travelling to 130 towns and cities asking fans to send messages of support to the team. The best entries will be put together to form a miniature artwork. This will be presented to the Indian team in the West Indies. The ICC partners LG, Pepsi, Hero Honda and Hutch will also have a presence in this campaign. Max will also release a limited edition calendar to celebrate the event.

Max has also kicked off an outdoor campaign. It is using billboards. It is also using the countdown aspect in some places. The print campaign kicks off on the day of the first match 13 March 2007. Gangadhar is also happy about the fact that Super stage now has eight teams instead of just six. This means more matches and also the level of interest among Indians for non India matches should be more as it could have a bearing on whether India makes the semi final stage or not assuming that India is not able to win all the matches.