ITV

Tag: Virat Kohli

  • Star Sports launches array of shows

    Star Sports launches array of shows

    MUMBAI: The new campaign by Star Sports wasn’t all that the channel had in its kitty when it announced the launch of six new channels. The network has now launched a slew of new shows: Star Power, Heroes, Masterclass and Hockey Hotshots, aiming at inculcating habit of schedule amongst the sports fans in the country.

     

    Commenting on the launch of new shows, Star India head of sports business Nitin Kukreja said, “The consumption of sports till date has been limited to big live events. We however, would like to engage more deeply with passionate sports fans. Therefore, we are embellishing our live content with a range of new shows and formats. This move is a critical step forward in creating a compelling experience for multi-sports fans who want to watch their favourite sports live and also want to have access to the best of non-live sports programming.”

     

    Shows at glance…
    Star Power – A definitive destination for sports fans for comprehensive updates and insights. The show helps passionate viewers to get deeper into the game. The half-hour show went on air from 6 November and is broadcast live twice a day at 8 pm and 10.30 pm on Star Sports 3.

     

    Heroes – The 13 episode series will showcase star cricketers in a never seen before format, interacting with select children from the age group 8-15 years. The innocent questions and the conversation thereby between the players and the children make the show really interesting. It brings forth traits of the players which have never been explored before. The first show of Heroes featuring Sachin Tendulkar will be aired on Children’s day (14 November) at 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm. The show will feature eminent cricketers including Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Shoaib Akhtar, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja , Dinesh Karthik , Kumar Sangakkara, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Cheteshwar Pujara. Heroes will be aired every Saturday at 8:30 pm on Star Sports 3.

     

    Hockey Hotshots: A weekly hockey show that will bring an Indian hockey star under the spotlight in each episode.  Each show will tell the story of its star in terms of his achievement for Indian hockey, his unique skill sets and his significance for the future of Indian hockey.

     

    Hockey Hotshots will focus on ‘Match Winner’ V.R. Raghunath the mercurial drag flicker and player of the tournament in the recently concluded Asia Cup. ‘The Wall’ under the bar P. Sreejesh, vice-captain and adjudged the best goalkeeper of Asia Cup. Mandeep Singh – considered by many experts as the most promising central striker of world hockey. Manpreet Singh, Captain of the junior Indian Hockey team, an Olympian at 19.  Ramandeep Singh – ‘The Play Maker’ a selfless player who keeps the team before self.  Sardar Singh- One of the best mid fielders in the world, a true master of his craft he is considered as one of the most skilful players of modern hockey. Hockey Hotshots will be broadcast every Saturday at 9:00 pm on Star Sports 3.

     

    Masterclass –A half an hour weekly show in both English and Hindi language, Masterclass will focus on highlighting individual techniques adopted by Star Cricket players which made them legends of the game. The show will involve physical demonstrations of various aspects of the game. Icons like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Navjot Singh Sidhu will discuss in detail intricacies of cricket for the benefit of sports fans. The 13 episode series will be showcased in English on Star Sports 1 and Hindi on Star Sports 3.

  • Nestle India rolls out a new campaign featuring Virat Kohli and Balakrishna Vaali

    Nestle India rolls out a new campaign featuring Virat Kohli and Balakrishna Vaali

    MUMBAI: The first campaign with Virat Kohli amplified the crunchy experience of Munch and was unique. It featured Vaali as a commoner with no special talents, a boring life and he loves crunching on Munch. His moments of excitement and fame are only because of the big ‘Crunch of the Nestle` Munch. The new campaign that has just been launched continues to reinforce the proposition of ‘Mera Crunch Mahaan‘. It revolves around the explosive crunch that triggers excitement through a fresh treatment.

    The commercial opens with Virat Kohli who is in an elevator with his manager. Kohli clearly loves eating Munch but just as he is about to bite into the chocolate in his hand there is an explosive sound of a ‘crunch‘. Virat and his manager both turn towards the source of this sound and find Balakrishnan Vaali, ‘crunching‘ his Munch totally oblivious to the presence of the other two. The manager notices the ‘strangest of coincidences‘ and points out the similarity between Vaali and Kohli that they not only look the same but they both like crunching on Munch and says, “Aap dono toh same to same…Munch kha rahe ho sir !” to which Kohli cannot agree more.

    JWT India, ECD Nitin Pradhan says, “The excitement of the moment comes from the crunch that makes viewers, Virat and his manager realise the ‘strange coincidence‘. It was a more refreshing way for us to show the actual celebrity in all his glory along with the lookalike character. The interaction is not a typical fan-meets-celebrity piece which is what makes it a more interesting watch. In fact, Vaali doesn‘t even notice Virat in the spot. Over here, the product still remains the focus of the message, being the subject of the ‘interaction‘. The love for the ‘Crunchiest Ever Munch‘ leads to another exciting moment. Which was the point of our communication.”

    Nestlé India head corporate communications Himanshu Manglik said, “The quality of the crunch is a key differentiator of a wafer chocolate and over the years, the tag line for Munch – ‘Mera Crunch Mahaan‘ has become strongly entrenched in the minds of the consumers. Earlier this year, we renovated the portfolio making it crunchier and launched the product – Munch 4X4 made from four rich layers of wafer and chocolate layer. We felt that as a successful cricketer and a youth icon Virat Kohli would enable us to build on this ‘crunchier‘ personality of Munch.”

    On the challenges faced while executing the TVC campaign Pradhan added, “The basic creative challenge was to use Virat Kohli and the character of Balakrishnan Vaali (also him) in a fresh and engaging way together, while keeping the product message central. While shooting, the main challenge was getting the implicit humor of the plot in the performances without letting it go overboard. The idea is to engage people, especially youngsters with a fresh kind of humor which involves a popular celebrity. Sports celebrities aren‘t seen that often creating humor on screen. So, that is sure to create some impact. “

    “A manager spots his celebrity‘s lookalike in a lift. He seems to be awestruck by the ‘coincidence‘ but the moment he speaks, it gets revealed that he was noticing the (common) brand of chocolate they were consuming and not their faces. Also, the intent was to not be too in-your-face with the humor, yet creating some recall.” Pradhan concludes.

    The new campaign is live on television with a heavy media plan. The TVC has gathered close to 300,000 views on YouTube and has integrated in other digital vehicles like Facebook and Twitter. The promotional plan would be supported by mobile promotions and radio.

  • Who can recommend sportspersons for National Awards, ask Lucknow-based petitioners

    Who can recommend sportspersons for National Awards, ask Lucknow-based petitioners

    NEW DELHI: Who has the authority to recommend names for sports awards – the National Sports Federation or any organisation dealing with sports?

     

    That is the question raised in a writ petition filed in Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, challenging the recommendations of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) for batsman Virat Kohli for Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance and ex Captain Sunil Gavaskar for Dhyan Chand award for life time achievement.

     

    The petitioners IPS officer Amitabh Thakur and social activist Dr Nutan Thakur say only the National Sports Federation (NSF) can make recommendations for the national sports awards.

     

    Furthermore, BCCI is not one of the 51 NSFs recognised by the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry. BCCI is an unrecognised private body which does not want to become a NSF and yet wants to have all advantages of NSF, the petitioners say.

     

    Based on this, Amitabh and Nutan have prayed the High Court to direct the Sports Ministry not to entertain the recommendations of awards made by BCCI.

  • Star launches marketing campaign to build ICC Champions Trophy 2013

    Star launches marketing campaign to build ICC Champions Trophy 2013

    MUMBAI: Star India has launched a marketing campaign, with the core theme of ‘Zor Lagao Champion Banao”, to promote the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 which started today 30 May with warm up matches.

    The event is airing on Star Sports 2 and on Star Cricket. The campaign is based on the insight that there is a symbiotic
    relationship between a spectator or fan and a player which inherently means that the spectator becomes as much a part of the game as the player himself.

    The focus of the campaign is that each match of the tournament in ICC Champions Trophy will be hotly contested as it features only the top eight ODI teams in the world. India, placed in group B, will take on Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies in the group stage. Australia, England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand form group A. The top two teams from both the groups will qualify for the semi-finals.

    ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput said, “Cricket is a religion in this country. Fans live and feed off each and every moment of cricket especially when the men in blue are in action. He jumps
    in joy when his favourite batsman hits a boundary; he becomes the ecstatic bowler who has just taken a wicket. The relationship is intense. From the players‘ perspective as well, this intensity is reciprocated as they get equally excited when they receive vociferous support from spectators inside the stadium or outside.”

    The ad agency MWG TAG led by Prasoon Joshi and his team have conceptualised the overall theme campaign. The main thematic film for the campaign has been directed by Bollywood director, Dibakar Banerjee. The film features Indian players including Indian captain M S Dhoni along with Virat Kohli, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, S Raina and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.

    Joshi said, “The campaign is driven from the insight ‘Kaun banata hai champions?‘ Who makes a player and a game great – the hard work and dedication of the player or the love and passion of the fans? What this campaign believes is that without the love, passion and energy of the fans no player and game can attain great heights. I am thankful to Dibakar for this great execution.”

    The campaign is being supported across the entire Star network with astons, bugs etc.

    As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com Star Cricket & Star Cricket HD will showcase all the 15 matches of the tournament in English while Star Sports 2 will showcase all matches in Hindi.

    Besides, the sports broadcaster will also showcase four of the six
    practice matches branded “Kick-off” live before the start of the main tournament. India takes on Sri Lanka on 1 June while the India Australia encounter is scheduled for 4 June.

  • Pepsi launches ad campaign with new brand ambassador Unmukt Chand

    MUMBAI: Pepsi has launched the second leg of ‘Oh Yes Abhi!‘ ad campaign featuring the Under-19 Indian Cricket Team captain Unmukt Chand as its new brand ambassador.

    Chand features in the ad-film that brings alive the ultimate face-off between him and the captain of the Indian cricket team MS Dhoni along with Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. The fun and entertaining campaign captures their impatient moments and promises to leave the audiences engaged like never before.

    PepsiCo India senior director – marketing (Colas, Juices and Hydration) Homi Battiwalla said, “Pepsi is known to be the first brand to identify youth icons early in time and tap talent with tremendous potential and credibility. We are proud to associate with Unmukt Chand, who truly reflects Pepsi‘s Oh Yes Abhi! attitude and are confident that he will lead the next-generation of players who personify the same philosophy. He is eager to be a part of the Indian cricket team and is performing consistently to achieve his goals… we wish him all the best and look forward to an exciting journey with him”.

    “Our latest campaign takes forward the ‘Oh Yes Abhi‘ philosophy and brings alive Unmukt‘s impatient moments in his first ever ad-film with MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. The film showcases the young emerging star impatient to be a part of the Indian cricket team which exemplifies our positioning in a fun and exciting manner,” he further added.

    The TVC brings alive Pepsi‘s youthful irreverence and demonstrates the â€?Oh Yes Abhi!‘ moments of these Pepsi brand ambassadors and youth icons.

    Chand is shown waiting impatiently, all anxious to get hold of a Pepsi bottle, while Dhoni, Kohli and Raina are also waiting to get their hands on it. What one sees next is an entertaining war of words between the youth icons and the rising star.

    The campaign has been created by Pepsi‘s creative AoR JWT.
    JWT India ECD Surjo Dutt said, “The young cricket star Unmukt shows his impatient side in a refreshing and cool manner, bringing alive the philosophy of Oh Yes Abhi!.”

    The campaign takes forward Pepsi‘s new journey in India with a refreshed new positioning and belief – “Oh Yes Abhi!”. To bring it alive for consumers, the brand had launched a mega campaign starring Ranbir Kapoor, Dhoni and Priyanka Chopra last month that captured their impatient moments.

  • Virat Kohli is Hugh Grant’s one of favourite batsmen

    Virat Kohli is Hugh Grant’s one of favourite batsmen

    MUMBAI: British actor Hugh Grant has recently revealed that he is amongst the millions of fans to be captivated by the young and dynamic Indian cricketer Virat Kohli.
    The Hollywood star who has portrayed multiple roles in his upcoming movie ‘Cloud Atlas‘, himself has played quite a few celebrity cricket matches for charity.
    Talking about Virat Kohli he commented, “Virat is one of my favourite batsmen from this new generation of cricketers. He is a treat to watch on field.”
    Although Hugh Grant mentions that he is a profound cricket fan, he also revealed that he does not like the Twenty20 format of the game. He prefers the ‘civilised‘ test version of the sport, in spite of the fact that his home country England is the reigning world Twenty20 champion.
    ‘Cloud Atlas‘, Hugh Grant‘s new movie also stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in major roles. It has been directed by the renowned Wachowskis – Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski of The Matrix trilogy fame along with Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run).
    Cloud Atlas is an epic tale of humankind in which the actions and consequences of everyone‘s lives impact one another throughout the past, present and future. The movie releases in India on October 26.

  • Pepsi rolls out new ad campaign with Ranbir Kapoor & MS Dhoni

    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.
     

  • Herbalife renews association with Saina Nehwal

    Herbalife renews association with Saina Nehwal

    BANGALORE: Buoyed by her impressive performance at the recently concluded London Olympics, Herbalife, the global nutrition, weight management and skin-care brand, has renewed its association with star badminton player and Olympics medalist Saina Nehwal for another year till 2013.

    The nutrition brand also felicitated Nehwal along with boxer Mary Kom for winning bronze medals at London Olympics with cash awards of Rs 500,000 each. The company announced a lifetime supply of Herbalife inner nutrition products for both the athletes.

    Nehwal has been associated with Herbalife since 2009, while Kom came on board in 2010. Kom’s association with the brand runs till 2013.

    “Our sports sponsorship program aims to strengthen the link between Herbalife nutrition and sports, which exemplify the healthy lifestyle that we promote,” said Herbalife India country head Ajay Khanna.

    Apart from Nehwal and Kom, cricketer Virat Kohli, squash player Dipika Pallikal and tennis player Somdev Devvarman also endorse Herbalife.

    Overall Herbalife sponsors about 150 sportspersons, teams and events globally including soccer teams LA Galaxy, FC Barcelona, and soccer player Leo Messi.

  • Virat Kohli is Toyota’s brand ambassador

    Virat Kohli is Toyota’s brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: Virat Kohli has been named as the brand ambassador for Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM).

    The cricketer is endorsing the brand as it enters a new phase of growth in India. The automobile company aims to bring a smile on the face of its customers, by designing vehicles that are ‘fun and exciting to drive’.

    Toyota Kirloskar Motor deputy managing director- marketing Sandeep Singh said,“Virat brings with him all the emotions that Toyota aims to offer its customers through its vehicles – passion, exuberance, energy, fun and excitement. Brand Toyota and Virat Kohli both represent perfection and continuous improvement. The synergy would bring about more fun and excitement to all Toyota customers.”

    Kohli will campaign for the Toyota brand through various electronic and print communications. “This will be a part of our overall marketing strategy for this year, aimed at endearing brand Toyota, to today’s youth,” Singh said.

    Kohli added, “I am excited to be a part of Toyota’s drive to connect with India’s youth. Toyota inspires the spirit of success and that is an emotion that is close to my heart.”

    The latest models of Toyota in India are the Etios and Etios Liva. With them, TKM aims to connect with today’s youth. “Virat Kohli personifies today’s younger generation. Behind this youthfulness is immense potential, talent and self belief, all of which Toyota stands for,” Singh said.

  • Virat Kohli is Celkon Mobiles’ brand ambassador

    Virat Kohli is Celkon Mobiles’ brand ambassador

    Mumbai: Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has been named as brand ambassador for Celkon Mobiles.

    Involved into mobile phone solutions and wireless technologies, Celkon caters to the growing needs of mobile users across the world.

    Celkon Mobiles executive director Murali said, “We are in the process of developing mobiles with latest technology like 3G, Android, dual Sim along with lot of entertainment. Since our mobiles are targeted for the youth. Virat was definitely an ideal choice for making him our ‘brand ambassador’ as our brand has come out with the most youthful features.”

    The company will soon be launching a series of ad films directed by Bollywood director Rohit Dhawan.