The ad was shot on the busy Mohammad Ali Road in Mumbai. Recounts Khanzanchi: “Such is our country that most people did not bother to stop and stare at the man in the grass suit. He even went up to buy chana and the chanawala was absolutely nonchalant as if this is completely normal.”

Kakkar’s verdict: The ad works because it is so unusual.

Pepsi billion bobs

For a creative director, a Pepsi cricket commercial is never easy. After all, Pepsi has long been associated with cricket and the cricket commercials have been among the most successful. After last World Cup’s men-in-blue campaign, this time Pepsi is back with “Ooh aah India, aaya India!” “Men-in-blue is a term still used as a coinage. We now wanted to give the fans a new chant that would stay with them,” says Soumitra Karnik, VP and senior creative director at JWT. “In fact, the chant is already catching on. I was at a bar the other day and some people started shouting it and I was very proud.”

Pepsi has traditionally relied on humour. Remember the World Cup ke shikari campaign for the World Cup in South Africa, where the crate of Pepsi is near a lion and the cricketers are desperate to fetch it? This time, they discard humour for passion. The idea is to involve the fans and get them to inspire the cricketers and hence Blue Billion cheer-athon. And so, instead of saying “Come back soon”, Pepsi chose to say, “Don’t come back”, that is, without winning.

... contd.