Cadbury Dairy Milk sweetens the lives of the cricket field's unsung heroes

Cadbury Dairy Milk has rolled out an initiative in collaboration with Mumbai Cricket Association to celebrate the unnoticed heroes of the cricket league, the ground staff.

 

Conceptualised by Ogilvy, the initiative consists of a film which aims to celebrate and acknowledge the efforts undertaken by the ground staff of Mumbai Indians. 

 

The first film showcased how the brand through its initiative with MCA focused on treating the ground staff at par with Mumbai Indian cricketers, making them the real stars of the tournament. The film showed the initiatives undertaken such as travel, accommodation, taking care of their nutritional needs and providing customised jerseys designed by fashion designer Masaba Gupta. 

 

The second film, titled ‘jersey’, features a testimony by a cricket ground staff member ‘Ganesh’ on the brand initiative. He shared that when he was getting ready to go to the field one morning, his wife told him you’re getting late, and you haven’t even ironed your clothes yet. But when he came out wearing the new customised jersey designed by a fashion designer, his wife said he looked like Virat Kohli. 

 

The third film, titled ‘bus’, features a testimony by ‘Nitin’, a cricket ground staff member, sharing the impact of the brand initiative. He said that when he was tying his shoelaces and was about to leave for his work at the stadium his daughter called out to him saying you have a ride to go to work. In response to her exclamation, I told her that this bus will be my pick up daily during this cricketing season. Nitin said that her daughter was happy about this ordeal and went around telling people that her father has the biggest vehicle. 

Anil Viswanathan, vice president - marketing, Mondelez India, said, “As a brand, Cadbury Dairy Milk has always believed that a little bit of generosity can go a long way and is often the small acts of kindness that have the biggest impact. Taking this narrative and purpose a step ahead, our partnership with Mumbai Cricket Association this year celebrates the lesser-known heroes of cricket, the ground staff. Through our initiative, we want to support and bring forth stories of these members who tirelessly work behind the scenes to create magic for the entire nation. We hope our initiative acts as a springboard and spreads the message of acknowledging the unacknowledged.”

 

Sukesh Nayak, chief creative officer, Ogilvy India, said, “Building further on our generosity platform, this cricketing season, we are proud to celebrate an unknown team of superstars, the team of ground staff. We are grateful to have them as our team. As proud sponsors, we hope that this team becomes the most loved team not just for the players but for the entire country.”

 

Jigar Rambhia, national director, sports and entertainment partnerships, Wavemaker India, said, “The ground staff are the unsung heroes of cricket, so it was only fair that we now acknowledged the heroes behind this massive event. The biggest challenge for us, however, was to ensure that they get their dues. While cricket and the players continue to be at the centre of this event. We decided to acknowledge their efforts, where they sweat it out the most, their grounds. From recognising them off-screen to recognising them on screen, we aim to give the people of India a glimpse into the lives of the ground staff so that when they watch cricket next, they celebrate both: on-screen and off-screen heroes.”