Changing the Fame

This commercial is one of the many that are part of the soft drink giant’s campaign that cashes in on the World Cup fever. The others are just as zany as the Pietersen ad — a small-town man teaches Mahendra Singh Dhoni to do the ‘helicopter shot’,movie star Ranbir Kapoor teaches Virender Sehwag his ‘upar cut’,a young woman drops her pallu,then picks it up to teach Tillakaratne Dilshan his famous ‘dilscoop’,while a hip college student teaches Harbhajan Singh how to bowl the ‘doosra’. At a time when ‘Go India Go’ became the mantra for most of the campaigns around the World Cup,this particular Pepsi campaign,created by Mumbai-based agency TapRoot India,stood out for cutting through the jingoistic anthems and attempting to connect directly with the masses.

Prasoon Pandey,of Corcoise Films,who shot these ads,says,“When I first heard the scripts,I knew this campaign would make an instant connection with the public. It celebrates the unorthodoxy that has risen in cricket in recent years,whether it is Pietersen’s switch hit or Dilshan’s scoop. It shows that cricket is still a young,growing and relevant game and its innovations need to be recognised.”

That’s precisely what TapRoot was aiming for,says Santosh Padhi,co-founder of the agency. “Everyone remembers the ‘Nothing Official About It’ campaign that Pepsi had run when Coca Cola was one of the sponsors of the World Cup in 1996,” Padhi says. TapRoot wanted to do that kind of bold,innovative,youthful campaign. “So,we thought of highlighting the improvisations and innovations that have crept into the game in recent years.” In its quest to highlight the game’s changing character,the agency went so far as to shoot an ad with umpire Billy Bowden,well-known for his quirky signals during the game.

To make sure that it’s a hit with the masses,the agency chose to forego formats which would show cricketers as being above and beyond the common people. “The real beauty of the campaign comes from the fact that commoners are ,using familiar things,to teach these cricketers their highly unusual style. Who would’ve thought that Anjala Zaveri would show Dilshan the technique for his dilscoop by dropping her pallu and then wear it again,” says Padhi.

In fact,all the elements had to be just right to ensure the ‘mass connect’,down to the music,locations and styling. While the ads were all shot in Mumbai,the sets were built to resemble,among others,a vegetable market,a village field,a sari shop. “We shot in an actual sari shop in Dadar for the Dilshan ad,” says Padhi. The characters all had to look believable. That’s why actor Anshuman Jha was dressed in a ganji,printed shirt and faux aviators. “It was street style,” says Jha,“My brief was to act like a UP bhaiyya.” Even when styling for Ranbir Kapoor,designer Aki Narula had to keep the masses in mind. “It’s a red and blue checked shirt,which cleverly uses the colours of the brand,but more importantly,it’s a very affordable item of clothing.”

The music,however,captures the soul of the campaign,switching tones as the setting demanded. “Each ad film showed a different aspect of the game as highlighted by the players. So we just played around with the tunes to arrive at something that sounded nice and celebratory,” says Loy Mendonsa,of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy,who composed the music. “Since the Kapoor-Sehwag campaign was a choreographed dance number,the music had to be slightly groovy. And in Dhoni’s commercial,the music had a rustic appeal.”

The radio campaign and the theme song for the advertisement series too celebrate this need for change. Swanand Kirkire and Shantanu Moitra of 3 Idiots fame composed the track Bindaas Badlo Yeh Game. “We created lyrics that were in sync with the nature of the campaign. It is about the youth,taking risks and striving for excellence. It isn’t just restricted to cricket alone,” says Kirkire.