IPL’s triumph over negative publicity

With the ninth season of the Indian Premier League on the go, the cash-rich league has done all it takes to be heard, loud and clear; even the message it is communicating through its ads are very symbolic, we will tell you how.

IPL had released other commercials, titled ‘Fun. Fans. Fantastic’, as curtain raisers for the new edition, which picturised a carnival with big names in the world of cricket such as MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Lasith Malinga. From then on, there’s no looking back.

What this IPL has given India is more than mere jingles, which we will be humming for quite some time now. It has given us a thought, a new perspective towards the country.

At this juncture when we are just being bombarded with debates that talk about the country being intolerant, counter arguments on nationalists and anti-nationalists, the Indian Premier League 2016 has given us a sweet sugary candy and named it ‘Ek India Happy Wala’.

Playing with colours, sharing flowers, playing cricket, roaming around streets and spreading joy, the kids in the ‘Ek India Happy Wala’ campaign, act as antidotes to emotions like anger, hatred and rebel that arise out of various big and small events in the country.

What mellows down the temper of people is not only the innocence and full-of-life attitude of these kids, but also the beautiful anthem they sing throughout the spots, which translate something like this –“Where there is no fear, no hatred, just the echoes of triumph; an India like this, with smile, with happiness.”

The league has come a long way from being constantly overshadowed by numerous misdeeds including spot-fixing and money laundering. With continuous efforts from DDB Mudra, with the backing of Sony Pictures Network (SPN), the league has done all it takes to entertain the millennia of fans and reinforce their personal connect with every Indian and assures being on the right path.

Mapping India’s progress and evoking the right emotions, SPN has done a great job right from writing the beautiful anthem to picturising kids mellowing down people’s anger and intolerance.

With Amazon, Oppo and Vodafone as the presenting sponsors for this IPL season, Sony has also roped in associate sponsors that include brands like Free Charge, Raymonds and Tata Sky.

With marketing spends up by 10 per cent, a 10 seconds spot is being charged around Rs 5.75 lakh on Standard Definition channels and around Rs 1.75 lakh on High Definition (HD) channels.

An iconic brand that hosts the most sought after event in the country, delivering a message as strong as ‘Ek India Happy Wala’, is precisely what India needs this hour.