Coca-Cola owns the game, opens happiness

It’s perhaps a little late to launch a ‘summer’ campaign, but as R Balki, chairman and chief creative officer at Lowe Lintas India points out, cricket in India isn’t about one season or tournament.

In its TVC released on 23 May, brand Coca-Cola attempts to ‘open’ the joy of cricket in a campaign titled ‘Cricket ki khushi’.

The film opens with a group of young kids in an arid region kicking off their slippers and running with gay abandon to start a game of cricket. The voiceover informs us that the temperature is 42 degrees, but it doesn’t bother the kids on the field or the small bunch of friends cheering them on. The game goes on, and the joy of the players captured by the camera is punctuated by an uplifting background score.

The film ends with brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar signing off, saying ‘Khelte Raho, Khush Raho’.

According to Coca-Cola, the communication is built around the ‘unparalleled joy and happiness we Indians derive from the game of cricket’.

On the film being launched at the end of IPL and not at the beginning of summer, Balki explains that the campaign was not timed for launch during the tournament.

“Cricket is the biggest passion in India, and it triggers happiness for millions of Indians. The attempt was to capture the unparalleled joy of playing the game. We could have done something around Sachin’s 100th century, or chosen some other creative route, but we chose to focus on the pure joy of playing cricket,” explains Balki.

Credits:

Client: Coca-Cola

Creative agency: Lowe Lintas and Partners India

Creative director: Amer Jaleel

Art director: Narendra Yadav

Account management: Raj Gupta (business head), Parikshit

Director: Amit Sharma

Production house: Chrome Films