MUMBAI: Being one of the global sponsors of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 Sri Lanka, Pepsi has launched its latest campaign that aims to celebrate the nation‘s zeal for the sport and more so the format.
The campaign has been created and conceptualised by Pepsi‘s creative agency, JWT.
The new commercial for Twenty20 cricket brings Ranbir Kapoor and Mahendra Singh Dhoni together on-screen. According to the official statement, the campaign revolves around the "passion" of the cricket fans who enjoy watching the format with the same irrepressible and unorthodox fervour reflected in the cricketers‘ game on-field. A cricket fan himself, Ranbir shows the cricketers, including Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina the ‘Na Tameez‘ the irreverent and zany side of T20 fans.
The campaign shows that Twenty20 is not played by the rules. It says- Yeh T20 hai boss… na tameez se khela jaata hai… na tameez se dekha jaata hai!
PepsiCo India senior director - marketing (Colas, Juices and Hydration) Homi Battiwalla said, "Pepsi is strongly associated with cricket in India and we are delighted to be one of the global sponsors of ICC World Twenty20 2012 Sri Lanka. Our ‘Change the Game‘ campaign last year celebrated everything unorthodox about the way the sport is played; this year, we take forward the same philosophy and extend it to the millions of cricket fans in our country. In true Pepsi style, the campaign is irreverent and the Indian cricket fans, led by Ranbir Kapoor show how they Change the Game off-field".
"Our latest commercial for Pepsi focuses on the excitement and thrill with which the sport is viewed by millions of its fans in India and celebrates their passion in a never seen before manner. Just the way the Twenty20 format has bent the traditional rules; Indian cricket fans have bent the rules to watch the sport in their own irreverent style. Ranbir and Dhoni for the first time together is the added bonus and if I may add… their chemistry is sizzling", JWT India executive creative director Surjo Dutt added.
The ad film opens with the shot of a bus taking the cricketers breaking down in a busy neighbourhood. Suddenly, Ranbir Kapoor appears from top of the bus and starts interacting with the cricketers. They are taken by surprise when other fans in the area also join Ranbir to demonstrate their fun response to the cricketers‘ playing format and some of their favourite shots. Witnessing the absolute craziness of the fans around, Dhoni finally asks Ranbir - "yaar yeh kya tameez hai?" to which the young actor responds in a quirky manner, ‘Yeh T20 hai boss, na tameez se khela jaata hai and then he‘s joined by the fans who say, ‘na tameez se dekha jaata hai‘.
Additionally, the brand is launching a contest on Facebook wherein they will be asked to answer two questions to be eligible to win passes for the ICC World Twenty20, scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka from September 18. 39 lucky winners will get opportunity to watch the India matches live.
Several initiatives on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Mobile are being launched with an aim to change the way the consumers watch, cheer and listen to the sport. In addition, Pepsi had also launched a branded smart phone application in India.
The media agency working on the account is Mindshare.
