Mumbai: The India-West Indies series including three one-day internationals and as many T20 internationals will begin on 6 February on the Star Sports network.
Under coach Rahul Dravid, the new captain Rohit Sharma will lead team India against West Indies. The ODIs will be played at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad behind closed doors.
Star Sports has released a new promo #NayaCaptainRohit in continuation of its #BelieveInBlueNarrative.
“Through the aperture of this series, we want to build a larger context to galvanise support for the Indian team as the team prepares for ICC events,” said a Star Sports spokesperson. “#BelieveInBlue provides a perspective to have a continuing narrative that strings multiple tournaments of Team India. This is an important juncture for the Indian team as they return home to play their 1000th ODI under a new Captain. We wanted to bring forward the high emotions and support of fans across the country and the world who rally behind their captain and team and stand by them in this new era.”
The series will see the return of wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has been out of competitive cricket for the last six months. On the batting front, Rajasthan’s Deepak Hooda has received a maiden ODI call-up. For the T20I series, 21-year-old wrong ‘un specialist Ravi Bishnoi earned his maiden call-up. Bishnoi, bought recently by IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants, has 24 wickets from 23 matches in the IPL with an average of 25.25 and economy rate of 6.96.
Meanwhile, West Indies pacer Kemar Roach received an ODI recall after being out of the side for almost two-and-a-half years. Roach is among six additions to the squad that went down 2-1 at home to Ireland earlier this month. Fabian Allen makes his comeback to the 15-man squad, with Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo and Brandon King adding muscle to the batting department. Hayden Walsh Jr adds the extra spin option. The selectors will announce the T20I squad following the completion of the England series.
Mumbai: Fantasy sports platform Dream11 has unveiled its new brand campaign #DreamBig for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. Conceptualised and executed by Tilt Brand Solutions and Rehab Films, the campaign films bring to life inspiring, real-life stories of Indian cricketers and Dream11 brand ambassadors Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shikhar Dhawan.
The brand has launched the campaign with the return of the T20 showpiece where passions run high and some players realise life-long dreams, not just theirs but also of their family, coaches, and teammates.
“Sport has always thrown up stories that drive fans to be inspired and achieve their own potential. We would like to encourage fans to strengthen their self-belief and go after their dreams, not just in sport but in any vocation they pursue,” said Dream11 chief marketing officer Vikrant Mudaliar.
“#DreamBig celebrates this sentiment through the stories of the extraordinary people who had the tenacity and were relentless in the pursuit of fulfilling their dreams. This also resonates with us at Dream11, where dreaming big was a huge part of our journey — going from being a start-up to becoming the world’s largest fantasy sports platform with over 110 million users,” he added.
The first film featuring Rohit Sharma leans on the origins of the cricketer’s ‘45’ numbered jersey, which, as we learn, is a lucky charm bestowed upon him by his mother.
The second film with Rishabh Pant showcases the classic sports hero worship story of idolising a star and eventually rubbing shoulders with him on the same pedestal, the hero, in this case, being MS Dhoni, who was Pant’s idol and inspiration, well before anyone knew about the budding player or his talent.
Hardik Pandya’s film portrays a story of humble beginnings. Pandya knew his chances were bleak but his sheer drive enabled him to Dream Big and achieve stardom from a near-impossible position.
The fourth film on Jasprit Bumrah’s journey showcases the results of channeling raw talent and watching the results unfold. Long before breaking records for India, the young lad was infamous for breaking many objects in his house and locality.
The fifth film featuring Shikhar Dhawan throws light on how elite sports is not about equals or competing at a level playing field.
The campaign films are now live across multiple platforms including TV and digital.
As the official fantasy sports partner of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, Dream11 will provide opportunities to millions of Indians to put their cricket knowledge and skills to test, and engage closely with the matches, said the brand.
The T20 tournament features the world’s top-16 teams including India, England, Australia, West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Bangladesh among others.
Mumbai: Sportswear giant adidas has launched its ‘Impossible is Nothing’ campaign through the voice of athletes such as Rohit Sharma, Manpreet Singh, Mirabai Chanu, Simranjeet Kaur, and Lovlina Borgohain.
Harnessing the power of sport, adidas brought forward the narrative of sustainability using Rohit Sharma’s shoes as a canvas inspiring the viewers to see the possibilities of a sustainable future. The customised spikes brought to life the three causes on- ‘Save The Rhinos, Save The Corals, and Plastic Free Oceans’ as the cricketer sported the shoes during an international sporting event.
“Through the stories of some of our key athletes, we intend to bring to life the ‘impossible is nothing’ attitude and inspire our consumers and communities to see and realise their possibilities,” said adidas India senior director Sunil Gupta. “With rebellious optimism, we are driven by action to shape a better future together. We see ourselves playing the role of a catalyst with our partners, like Rohit, who have been building conversations around sustainability.”
The shoes are aesthetically crafted by designer Aaquib Wani in collaboration with the sportswear brand to garner people’s attention towards sustainability and the environment in a unique way, said the statement.
“adidas has been the driving force of positive change in the lives of people beyond athletes, inspiring us all to push boundaries. I personally resonate with the ‘impossible is nothing’ attitude and was thrilled when we worked on the unique idea of representing the causes through me on the playing field,” said cricketer Rohit Sharma. “It is extremely important to have an active dialogue on matters of sustainability through all possible mediums and inspire all around us to see the possibilities of positive change.”
NEW DELHI: BharatPe, has launched its TV campaign starring ‘Team BharatPe’ with 11 Cricket stars. The TVC series has been directed by ace Bollywood director, Puneet Malhotra, and communicates the message ‘Hum Hai Team BharatPe – Jo Desh Ke Har Dukandaar Ke Saath Hai Khade’. This is the first time that a new age FinTech company has rolled out a TV campaign with 11 top cricket stars as its brand ambassadors. Team BharatPe includes Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shubhman Gill.
The company is set to redefine the financial services landscape with its four TV advertisements designed to drive awareness around BharatPe’s range of financial products for small shop owners across India, including QR based payment acceptance, no collateral loans, card payment machine with 0% transaction fee, and the exciting loyalty program. The new campaign will feature across channels – TV, Print, Radio, digital and will run throughout the cricket and festive season.
BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer said, “BharatPe has been the flagbearer of disruptive marketing. Last year, we created immense brand recall and the merchant connect with Salman Khan as our brand ambassador. Cricket is a great unifier and hence, for this year’s campaign, we decided to build our own team of cricket stars to reach out to merchants and showcase how our range of financial products can help scale their business.”
BharatPe head – brands and commerce Subhasis Beura said, “We will be rolling out a series of 4 TV ads across channels in the coming days. We are hopeful that this campaign will not only help us engage better with our existing merchants but also enable us to reach out to a wide range of prospective merchants across the country. Our TV campaign is well-timed as the merchants are gearing up to shed the impact of COVID and make the most of the festive season. This is timed to catch the cricket fever and the restart of cricket for Team India.”
BharatPe AVP marketing Abhishek Shah said, “Cricket is an ‘unrivalled’ communication platform in reach, engagement, and therefore, impact. We have always connected with small merchants through authentic, credible communication by keeping it light and fun like in case of the last year’s campaign with Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan. The objective of the new campaign is to build demand for our products and services and to humanize the brand. The campaign will serve as a quirky reminder to team up with BharatPe to grow your business.”
Delhi based creative & digital agency ArtE MediaTech facilitated the campaign shoot across two countries and five states.
NEW DELHI: IPL’s electrifying debut aired on 18 April, 2008, and India has been hooked ever since. Every year, more and more people are tuning into the sporting tournament, cheering for their favourite teams and players, and sharing their excitement on social media. The viewership for this ‘grand festival’ of cricket has massively risen and for brands, it’s more like an advertising bonanza. Every year, the latter put their best foot forward to connect with the audience.
In a similar fashion, both the IPL committee and teams have consistently released interesting anthems to fire up fans and increase the recall of both team and tournament to the next level. It involves roping in advertising agencies and production houses to create films that reflect the audiences' craziness and love for the tournament and the team.
This year is no different. Even though Covid2019 appeared as a deterrent in the early days, the relentless will of players, committee and broadcaster got it all together in the end. The franchise released the anthem Aayenge Hum Wapas, which resonated strongly with people for its ‘we shall overcome’ message. It showcased how people eagerly waited for the tournament and featured stalwarts of the game including the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumra, KL Rahul, and many other players.
Soon after, Mumbai Indians also dropped the latest avatar of its theme song 'Aala Re'.
Interestingly, all these anthems were carefully conceptualised keeping in mind the current Covid2019 situation. Each of them focused on adhering to safety norms, wearing masks, maintaining distance and other precautions.
Right from advertisers to marketers to the audience, the IPL anthem is something that everyone looks forward to, for the a spellbinding video supporting it, and over the years it has managed to leave an imprint on the audience. From ‘Ek Happy India Wala’ to ‘Come on Bulaava Aaya Hain’ to the most famous one ‘Jumping- Japang’ by Farhan Khan has struck chords with the viewers.
With the nation currently in the throes of IPl fever, indiantelevision.com has curated a list of all the anthems and popular campaigns presented by the franchise over the decade.
IPL Season 1 (2008): “Cricket Ka Dharmayudh”
Probably the best of IPL promos, the official song of IPL 2008 remains to be one of the most awesome theme songs of IPL.
IPL Season 2 (2009): “Divided by Nations, United by IPL…
As the tagline says, the IPL brought nations and rival players together. To this day, it comes across as one of the most meaningful IPL ads, the beautifully-shot video depicts how different cultures from around the world are tied by a sporting event. Back in 2009, the IPL was played in South Africa owing to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India.
IPL Season 3 (2010): “Saare Jahan Se Acha” & “Lautaaya”
This IPL theme will remind you of Lagaan and Chak De India – two of the most popular sports films in Indian cinema. Also, you’ll be delighted to see how Ayushmann Khurana was shaking a leg to the musical tunes of IPL 2010.
IPL Season 4 (2011): “Dum lagake mara ray”
Dum Laga Ke Mara Re was all about peoples’ craze for IPL and its popularity which cuts across demographics and national boundaries. The video showed IPL fans dancing on the streets, even breaking into some of umpire Billy Bowden’s signature moves, to welcome the new season of the sporting extravaganza.
IPL Season 5 (2012): “Aisa Mauka Aur Kaha Milega”
The official track of IPL 2012 focused on the theme of ‘opportunity’. Composed by Salim Sulaiman, the song’s lyrics underscored how the IPL promotes young domestic players and allows them to make their mark on one of the biggest cricketing platforms in the world.
IPL Season 6 (2013): “Jumping Zapak”
Remember Farah Khan dancing to the tune of Jumping Zapak with people everywhere, be it the station, the office, or any other place? The song had a simple message which was a big hit nonetheless: have fun and enjoy the IPL anywhere.
IPL Season 7 (2014): “Come on Bulava Aaya Hai”
Every year from April to June, the nation descends into IPL madness, with many people sitting glued to their TVs for every single match. The concept behind the seventh season’s theme song was: drop whatever you are doing, because you’re invited! Don’t miss out on watching the IPL!
IPL Season 8 (2015): “India ka Tyohaar”
The IPL is no longer a mere sporting event, but a full-on festival in India. During its eight edition, IPL launched India Ka Tyohar, which is arguably the most appealing anthem ever and still resonates with people.
IPL Season 9 (2016): “Ek India Happywala”
Ek India Happy Wala showed how good elements in the society are what defines a country, and everyone should look for happiness, unity, and harmony instead of negativity.
IPL Season 10 (2017): “Das Saal Aapke Naam”
On This upbeat symphony was dedicated to the tournament’s die-hard fans and viewers, who ensured IPL’s longevity in spite of a host of scandals marring its decade-long run.
IPL Season 11 (2018): “Yeh khel hai sher jawano ka”
Inspired from the iconic song Yeh desh hai veer jawano ka in the Dilip Kumar-starrer sports drama Naya Daur, this video of this anthem plays back thrilling moments from preceding seasons of the IPL.
IPL Season 12 (2019): “Game Banayega Name”
Game Banayega Name shone the light on newcomers taking on star players in the twelfth edition of the IPL. The lyrics humko bhi ek mauka do encapsulates the rookies’ hunger to prove themselves and determination to make it big.
Extra innings! Here’s a round-up of a few popular ad campaigns by IPL over the years.
Bharat Bandh
One of the satirical promos launched by the franchise was the ‘Bharat Bandh’ ad, which humorously portrayed politicians throwing a fit when they heard about the 51-day nationwide shutdown. The reason? IPL, of course!
Tashreef Tokra
Do you still remember Tashreef Tokra? The ad showed a large number of people carrying chairs and making an outdoor stadium in a busy market to watch their favourite game together. The dialogue Aisa mauka aur kaha milega captured the fanaticism of a cricket fan which overshadows everything else.
Sare Jahan se Acha
The second edition of the IPL was held in another country. In order to make their homecoming a moment of reckoning, the third season went big with the Sare Jahan se Acha campaign, which evoked a sense of patriotism among people.
NEW DELHI: From Bollywood to cricket. That’s the path fintech brand BharatPe is taking. Bharat Pe, which is positioned as the one stop shop for the payment as well as capital needs of India’s large retailer network, has signed up 11 top cricketers as its brand ambassadors. Among them figure: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Suresh Raina.
The 11 cricketers will be featuring in an ad campaign which is being directed by a top Hindi film director. The purpose: build BharatPe’s brand identity, apart from explaining its unique features, positioning and thought process to merchants. The sportsmen have been banded under a group which has been called BharatPe XI. The ad campaign is set to be unfurled closer to the festival period and will encompass TV, radio, OOH, digital, as well as print media.
The company, which is heavily funded by top investors like Sequoia, Beenext, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital management, Ribbit Capital, Coatue and Amplo, had earlier roped in Bollywood A-lister Salman Khan for its launch campaign #AbDukandarJitega.
BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer, who got on board the fintech firm as recently as August 2020, points out that the Salman association helped the brand get noticed, and connect with the merchant community who were loathe to use digital payment options.
“We decided to go ahead with cricket this year as it is one sport that brings Indians together, irrespective of their region, religion, or financial status,” he explains.
Co-founded by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani, BharatPe’s mission is to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants, especially across tier 1, 2 and 3 cities. BharatPe, since its launch, has been empowering shop owners with a single zero MDR UPI based QR code which allows them to accept payments from any app – like PayTm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM and 150+ other UPI apps – at no cost to them. The cash goes directly into the retailer’s bank account and he or she can earn interest on it and even take loans if the need arises.
Sameer shares that the initial task for BharatPe was to create awareness amongst the merchant community and educate them about how digital payments work. Says he: “We have invested time and effort to educate the merchants and built trust with them. We offered them the convenience of accepting digital payments, irrespective of the consumer’s preferred choice of digital payment.”
The Salman campaign helped the company on board merchants in tier-1 and tier-2 towns and cities. As of early 2020, it had managed to rope in close to three million retailers. Average transaction values which were Rs 500 earlier rose by 60-65 per cent in early 2020.
SAMEER THINKS BOLLYWOOD
AND CRICKET ACT AS UNIFIERS
Covid2019 and the lockdown hit BharatPe hard, with transactions dipping in the first few weeks. But with the country unlocking, these have been picking up pace. Even merchant signups have ballooned to five million, and the target is to take that number to six million by end this fiscal. BharatPe is present in 35 cities and processes five crore plus monthly UPI transactions.
“In September, we are already at 50 per cent above the pre-Covid2019 levels in the value of the transactions we process (at $4 billion annually). We aim to close the year at a run rate of $5 billion in annual total payment value,” reveals Sameer.
Currently 15-20 per cent of the total transactions come from tier-2 areas and the next wave of growth will come from tier-2 and 3 markets, Sameer reveals Covid2019, which accelerated digitisation in the country has benefited BharatPe, like many other digital first brands, as consumers are choosing to go in for contactless transaction with the pandemic still raging.
The company is on an expansion spree even on the lending side – an activity which was kickstarted a year ago. So far, it has disbursed loans in excess of Rs 250 crore, despite the Covid2019 related slowdown. It has set a target to disburse around Rs 700 crore in the next six months. “We did consciously slow down on our lending during the lockdown months, but have scaled well since July 2020,” highlights Sameer. “We are confident we will surpass Rs. 700 crore for the rest of the year, and are internally gearing for higher numbers.”
He is also sanguine that the cricketer-led advertising campaign will redefine how fintech marketing can be done. In the process, it will help BharatPe get closer to its goals.
NEW DELHI: As the country gets ready to kickstart the festive season through cricket, BharatPe, India’s leading merchant payment network, is all set to invigorate the market with its own team of 11 cricket superstars as it's brand ambassadors. The BharatPe XI team includes India’s top international cricketers. Throughout September to October, the BharatPe XI team players will be seen on the ground, across seven of the league teams playing cricket. It includes Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shubhman Gill.
BharatPe also rolled out a new contest, BharatPe Premier League (BPL), wherein BharatPe’s merchant partners can predict winners and man of the match, score runs, and win exclusive cricket merchandise, personally autographed by BharatPe XI team. The top scorers of the BharatPe Premier League stand a chance to meet their favourite cricket stars.
Also as the season builds up leading to festivals, BharatPe will launch a high impact brand campaign featuring cricketers and that has been directed by an ace Bollywood director. The campaign is set to redefine the fintech marketing landscape as the company will showcase its portfolio of financial products targeted specifically at the merchant community in India.
BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer said, “Bollywood and cricket find maximum resonance with Indians and our relevant audience. Last year, we established our credentials with Salman Khan as our brand ambassador. For our second year, we’ve done a marketing coup of sorts by building our own team of 11 cricket players as brand ambassadors. With cricket kicking off the festive season, our strategy through the marketing campaign is to make a wider set of merchants aware of our suite of financial products, which can help them shrug off Covid impact and get back to business. It is designed to be a fun campaign and will go on air in early October. This is also at an opportune time, as we expand our presence to more cities.”
NEW DELHI: IPL 2020, like many believe, will change the mood of the nation and give people a reprieve from all the thoughts haunting the minds in these extraordinary times due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With only a few days left for IPL to kickstart the thirteenth edition, BCCI has also announced the schedule. The audience can’t keep calm to watch the first opening game, which will be played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
BCCI has released its IPL 2020 anthem and each of its lyrics reflect the same emotion. Titled 'Aayenge Hum Wapas', the anthem gives goosebumps as it sends a strong message that the nation and the world will bounce back from the disastrous pandemic which has taken lakhs of lives worldwide.
Sharing the video on twitter, BCCI wrote, “The greater the setback. The stronger the comeback. We can sum it up in 3 words: AayengeHumWapas, Watch #Dream11IPL starting Sept 19 on @DisneyPlusHS, @StarSportsIndia @Hotstarusa #Dream11IPL #AayengeHumWapas #StrongerTogether #Anthem”
The video features all the legends of the game including the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumra, KL Rahul and many other players. It showcases that IPL 2020 is ready to cheer the whole country from the disastrous pandemic and it will lift the spirits again.
The anthem says that all the citizens of the nation are players and a strong partnership is needed amongst them. It goes on to add that there is only one answer to the existing problems and that is to not give up and accept defeat.
IPL is the first big live sporting event happening after a hiatus of four to five months. The tournament will be played in UAE between 19 Sep to 10 Nov with eight teams participating in it. The matches will be aired by Star India on television and the digital medium.
MUMBAI: IIFL Finance, one of India’s leading non-banking finance companies, with over Rs 36,000 crore of assets under management, has signed up Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as its first-ever brand ambassador.
IIFL Finance endeavours to stand out for talking straight and being honest with its customers. This ties in perfectly with Rohit Sharma who is known for his straight and effective approach to batting, successful captaincy, and a clean image.
IIFL Group MD and co-promoter R Venkataraman said, “We are glad to announce India’s leading batsman, Rohit Sharma, as IIFL’s brand ambassador. He is renowned for his straight drives. We believe in ‘Seedhi Baat’ or doing business the straightway. We do this by being customer-centric, offering relevant and simple products and ensuring transparency in our processes. Rohit is a living representation of brand IIFL values.”
Rohit Sharma said, “I am happy to be associated with IIFL Finance. #SeedhiBaat is how I live my life and play my cricket. One needs not just skills but also honesty and empathy to become a successful cricketer. And as a captain, I believe in straight talk as that is the key to success.” The cricketer is exclusively managed by IMG Reliance.
Interestingly, the first-ever campaign by IIFL Finance with Rohit Sharma is not a product promotion campaign but a public service message advising people on safety guidelines and rules to follow during lockdown to fight Covid19 outbreak. In the 30-second message titled “Rohit Sharma Ki Seedhi Baat”, Rohit in straight words urges people to stay at home, for the time to hit centuries and sixes will come later. This is a unique initiative which is very relevant considering the current situation.
IIFL Finance, through its subsidiaries, offers a wide spectrum of products such as home loan, gold loan, business loan, microfinance, capital market finance, developer and construction finance to a vast 30 lakh customer base. IIFL Finance has widened its pan-India reach through an extensive network of branches spread across the country and various digital channels.
MUMBAI: Star Sports has introduced a brand-new show ‘Cricket Connected: Chats’ that will help fans catch-up with their favourite cricket stars during the week.
In an extension to the Cricket Connected brand, the new series will see flagbearers of the sport delve further into how they fruitfully utilise their time during the lockdown and offer advice to cricketers on how to be mentally focused during Covid2019 times. The show will air on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi from 13 May onwards.
‘Cricket Connected: Chats’ will kick-start with the ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma’s special interview on 13 May followed by the ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar and Team India captain Virat Kohli each featuring exclusively on May 14 – 15 May respectively.
In the first episode of the series, Rohit Sharma talks about how he misses bowling. He said, “Since I injured my finger, I’m unable to grip the ball and I can’t bowl the way I used to. Wankhede’s pitch doesn’t give me a chance to bowl, so I stay away from it. In Tests, I try to bowl because that gives bowlers a break. To help the team, I mentally prepare myself to bowl 10 overs in a Test match.”
In the second episode, Tendulkar doles out golden advice on how players can still use the lockdown to prepare themselves. He said, “I would tell all of them to recharge their batteries. They need to have a little time off as well. When you are playing every alternate day, it’s not so easy to stay on top of the game all the time. It is good to move away from cricket for a while, recharge your batteries. I’m seeing different kinds of training that players are doing on social media.”
“In addition to that, as far as batting and bowling are concerned, there are physical drills and preparing yourself mentally that one needs to do. They also need to visualise how they can rectify what wrong they did in the past and how they can repeat the good they did. There have been many champions who didn’t have the best of everything, but they made the best of everything they had, so right now, we are in that situation," Tendulkar added.
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