Aseem's Blog
Leap over the bounds…
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Commercialising Dada |
With ‘Ooh Aah Ouch’ and out of Cricket to ‘Hu Ha India’ on the screens, Ganguly still seems to have not lost hopes of wearing the country’s colours again. If you have been watching the Champions Trophy, you probably know what I am talking about. A (poignant??) Ganguly asks India in a new Pepsi ad if they have forgotten him. Sitting in the spectator stands of an empty cricket stadium(how sad :( ) this is what Ganguly says while batting (Uh I mean now batting for Pepsi!):
“My name is Saurav Ganguly. I hope you havnt forgotten me.
Whatever happened, why it happened I don’t know. I am practicing hard to come back into the team.
Who knows I might get another chance to swirl my shirt in the air!
In the field or outside the field, I wont keep quiet.
Hu ha India… Aaya India.
For every match of India I am going to cheer them like this and so should you… my team will feel good.
You will listen to your ‘Dada’ right?”
What a classic way of emotional blackmailing! Is this the way by which Ganguly thinks he would be back in the team? A couple of sensitive lines on screen with an intent to gather sympathy, my dear Ganguly… this is no way u gonna bat again for India.
Ofcourse we have not forgotten you… How can we? How can we forget, one of the best cricketing captains of India, one who changed what captaincy is in Indian cricket. How can we forget our Dada whose aggressive attitude on-field was always so exciting to watch. We havnt forgotten you Saurav. And if we havnt then please stop doing such stupid ads, trying to gather sympathy for nothing.
If Ganguly is practicing hard, he should be making his way back soon, not by media-cising(coined a new word lol! :lol:) his intentions like this. He may want to swirl his shirt again in the air to thrill millions, to be back to the glory he was at, but speaking the truth, by emotionally influencing people through such supposed to be sensitive and touching commercials, he is only taking down his dignity with him.
As most brands have chosen to downplay their association with Ganguly, Pepsi seems to have found the man at their shoulders. Both having let down millions of people at some point, seem to be desperately trying to leverage from each other. While Coca Cola presenting their all time hero Aamir Khan to do the job, Pepsi has not left any marketing trick in the book to try to do better. With their new catchline ‘Hu Ha India’ to enthrall the Indians before the World Cup fever begins, a Blue Billion website portal and a pleading Ganguly, they seem to be on the right tracks. For all they might have done to get Ganguly to do this, great job done! Though I am not sure if they can shoot up their sales all over India with this, but Bengal for sure ;) (Sorry if I hurt anyone by saying this).
For the cake that Ganguly thinks he has, I feel really sorry for him, for doing such (already termed stupid) ads, like almost begging to be taken back in the team, he has let us down one more time!
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