MS Dhoni teams up with Oreo to unjinx India's prospects this World Cup

Oreo has rolled out a campaign #OreoBolaMatBolo (Oreo say's don't say anything), featuring cricketer and brand ambassador MS Dhoni, which taps into the Indian tradition of not speaking too soon to avoid jinxing wishes. 

Conceptualised by Leo Burnett, the film showcases a cricket news show stage, where expert panelists debate India's prospects at the World Cup 2023. Dhoni unexpectedly arives on this set and takes charge by delivering a straightforward message: With Oreo, we share the belief that we should refrain from discussing India's chances until we've clinched the cup. Dhoni advocates embracing the #OreoBolaMatBolo philosophy, urging viewers to do the same until India secures its victory.

Nitin Saini, vice president, marketing, Mondelez India, said, “Following the same thought as last year with our #BringBack2011 campaign that introduced our playful version to take India to the finals, we are yet again bringing together the nation with a nostalgic and relatable twist with ‘Oreo Bola Mat Bol’ campaign. The campaign brings the nuances of watching cricket and supporting India during the nail-biting matches and aims to influence the loudest and most passionate cricket fans in the world to stay ‘silent’ about India’s performance during the most important tournament. Just like every Indian, I have followed these stereotypes over the years and the effort to un-jinx this year’s game by simply not talking about it is something I am sure we have all done or experienced in the past. We are once again partnering with everyone’s favourite, MS Dhoni, who has effortlessly brought this idea to life.” 

Mayuresh Dubhashi, group executive creative director, Leo Burnett, said, “The biggest cricketing event, the World Cup is back. And so is Oreo along with M.S. Dhoni. And this time around, we are not going to say anything at all - #OreoBolaMatBol. Because of our deep cultural belief that we don’t talk about the thing that we want the most. And we all want that one particular result out of this Cup, don’t we? We are launching a disruptive multi-platform campaign that’ll run the course of the tournament with many innovations, many firsts with the hope that the country joins us in this belief to help better our team’s chances.”

Shekhar Banerjee, chief client officer and office head, North, West and East, Wavemaker India, said, “We are strategically choosing our message and media. While many brands may express the belief that "India will win," we are encouraging our audience to avoid excessive optimism (or negativity) with the hashtag #OreoBolaMatBol. Whether they are engaged in cricket-related platforms or consuming content related to cricket, we will remind India to embrace our motto of #OreoBolaMatBol to ensure we do our bit to send good vibes and avert bad vibes for Team India over the next two months."