It’s that time of the year when cricket elbows out everything else, in the drawing room, on the idiot box. Most commercials are either about cricket or endorsed by cricketers. Reportedly 30-40 per cent of the ad spend this year will be on cricket. Not that it’s anything new. Last World Cup saw more than 60 commercials centred on cricket.

There was the hugely successful Pepsi campaign, “Nothing official about it” during the 1996 World Cup where Pepsi cheekily stole the limelight from the official sponsor Coke. The Adidas ad with Sachin Tendulkar had the entire country at a standstill as the master blaster took the pitch. There is an old lady counting her rosary beads, who erupts in delight when Sachin hits a six. Then there was the Cadbury commercial, where the girl runs past security, to the batsman, to celebrate a shot.

Sometimes using humour and sometimes passion, the best cricket ads have always stayed with us even after the season. This season began with a controversy with charges of racism against the Neo Sports promo ads that showed West Indies cricketers in India having a tough time. Keeping it safe, Max is celebrating cricket in true Caribbean spirit, with its cheery and colourful “Come, Play” campaign.

Nike has launched its first cricket ad ever and it is already being touted as among the best Nike commercials. The ad captures the passion of street cricket being played in a traffic jam while underplaying stars like Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth who are portrayed as onlookers. That also seems to be the case with the Tata Sky Hrithik Roshan commercial and the Pepsi campaign; both have fans dominating the screen. Says ad guru Alyque Padamsee: “Today’s cricket commercials are concentrating on the Big Idea rather than the Big Celebs. There’s nothing new that the stars can say, it is the people’s turn now.”

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