Too Yumm Karare, the snack brand by Guiltfree Industries, has launched a new campaign with Virat Kohli, the brand’s ambassador, at the centre. Mullen Lintas Mumbai has treated Too Yumm’s old ads and repurposed them into an entirely different-looking new film.
Commenting on the campaign, Rajeev Khandelwal, CEO – RPSG FMCG, said: “With Too Yumm Karare – we wanted to deliver a creative which despite the limitations of shooting in a shutdown would be clutter breaking. Mullen Lintas and team came out with a creative approach and have delivered a commercial which has a fresh ring to it. I am hopeful that it will resonate well with our young millennial consumer.” (RPSG = RP Sanjiv Goenka Group)
Added Garima Khandelwal and Azazul Haque, CCOs, Mullen Lintas: “Snacking as a category is about binging and ‘loop’ as a keyword connotes that in sync with the many things we do in a loop, in the way we even consume entertainment. Using the face of the brand with existing assets but using the footage on a loop gave us a creative hook to package the campaign building taste as the undeniable key take out.”
Edtech firm Great Learning has announced the appointment of Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador. He will lead the brand’s latest ‘Power Ahead’ campaign.
Said Mohan Lakhamraju, Founder and CEO, Great Learning: “Virat is the obvious choice to be our brand ambassador because he best embodies the Great Learning ethos of excellence and continuous learning. He exemplifies hard work, integrity and ambition; values that are critical to reach the pinnacle of success in any field. The respect that he commands globally, across all age groups and the connection that he has with the youth make him the perfect partner to deliver our message of ‘powering ahead’ in one’s career through online learning. We, at Great Learning, are looking forward to this association with Virat through which we wish to spread the message that now, through the high quality online learning offered by Great Learning, anyone can grow and succeed as long as they have the desire and put in the effort.”
USPL’s apparel line Wrogn, in association with wildlife channel Animal Planet, has launched a new collection – Animal Planet X Wrogn. Conceptualised by Black White Orange, Animal Planet’s licensing arm, each style in the range portrays an endangered animal including the Tiger, Sea Turtle, Gorilla, Sumatran Elephant and Panda, amongst others.
Said cricketer Virat Kohli, the face of Wrogn: “I’ve been associated with Wrogn since inception and we take some exciting initiatives season after season. I couldn’t be happier that Wrogn is taking a step in the direction of creating awareness around animal endangerment.”
Speaking about the collaboration, Megha Tata Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery, said, “Animal Planet has been striving hard to drive attention towards the importance of saving the endangered species in impactful ways. We are confident that this innovative collaboration with WROGN for this inspirational apparel line will help in spreading the message of conservation of endangered species as well as the wildlife.”
Leading talent management agency Cornerstone has signed Indian tennis player Sania Mirza. The agency will exclusively manage her brand endorsements, appearances, digital activations, and other potential business opportunities.
Said Bunty Sajdeh, CEO, Cornerstone: “Sania has been a world class athlete and a fantastic human being both on and off the court. She is one of the most recognisable and aspirational sporting icons India has produced till date. I’ve known and followed Sania for many years and we as an agency are delighted to work closely with her.”
Cornerstone shot into fame with the management of cricketer Virat Kohli’s endorsement interests.
Ogilvy India has created an anti-coronavirus campaign for the Government of India, under the title, ‘Mask Force’. It involves some of India’s cricketers talking to the nation, starting with captain Virat Kohli and concluding with Sachin Tendulkar. The lineup also includes women cricketing stars such as Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj.
Speaking about the exercise, Ogilvy’s Chief Creative Officer Worldwide and Executive Chairman, India, Piyush Pandey said: “For decades now, we at Ogilvy have stepped up to stand by our country’s needs through our CSR, be it for polio eradication, literacy, fighting crimes against women and many more causes. So as soon as the Government of India approached us for our effectiveness in spreading messages to the masses, we wholeheartedly jumped in to do our bit. I believed that ‘Mask Force’ would be a likeable term that could be used to galvanise the whole country, hence decided to name this program ‘Mask Force’.”
AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli recently engaged in a Twitter banter announcing the launch of Wrogn Active. The campaign focuses on one simple message – #Getoffyourass and has been targeted towards millennials and Gen Z. The South African cricketer is the face of the brand and he launched the initiative recently.
Notes a communique: “The campaign focuses on spreading the message that physical activity is needed to be fit and active. Wrogn’s signature non-conformist has approached to create a look that blends fitness and fashion in a way no other active wear brand can.”
Smartphone brand Iqoo has appointed Lowe Lintas to launch Iqoo 3, a smartphone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor that has 5G capabilities. The brand forays has roped in Virat Kohli as its new brand ambassador. Lowe Lintas has developed its launch communication and is helping the brand build quality and performance credentials using relevant digital video content.
Commenting on the appointment, Gagan Arora, Director – Marketing, iQOO India said: “For our new brand launch, we were not looking for an advertising agency only, but a strategic partner who could chalk out a robust launch plan for us. Lowe’s strategic approach was completely aligned with our philosophy and vision and helped us translate the same into a creative manifesto very well.”
Talking about the creative idea, Amar Singh, Regional Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas added: “Conceived and created by Katya Mohan and Cohaan Dias, the idea uses the brand’s global positioning of Monster Inside, to bring together the almost superhuman energy that drives Virat and the superlative performance specs of the Iqoo 3. And does this in a manner that we hope will stay with consumers as they use the phone and experience its sheer ability.”
Speaking about the new association, Satish Ramanathan, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas said: “Mobile phone category is easily one of the busiest categories. And launching a new brand and that too a premium one was quite a challenge. As Iqoo is new to India, it is extremely important to talk about its superior features to build their credentials but in a manner that’s distinctive and true to the proposition of ‘Monster Inside.”
It might not be a coincidence that we use sports terminology in everyday management in our companies. We talk about a ‘pitch’, to a client, or we ask ourselves what is the ‘gameplan’ or when appropriate we say someone ‘dropped the ball’ when we see an error of judgment. Obviously, there is a lot to learn from the field of sports management.
And interesting area of sport management are the sports coaches themselves and their style of team management. For example, if we were to look at some of our past coaches for the Indian cricket team, there might be one crucial difference between Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri when it comes to evaluating coaches. And that is the question of ‘who is the boss?’ Kumble thought he was the boss, but Shastri thinks it is the captain of the team that is the boss.
If press reports are to believed, Kumble’s pep talk after losing the Champions Trophy final against Pakistan didn’t go down well with the team which might have led to his final ouster. Although Kumble was not rude, he is supposed to have mentioned how wides and no-balls cost India dear and how the bowlers were not able to execute their game plan. While Kohli might have agreed with Kumble on how the team could have done better, he is known to have gone on to give a positive spin with his Captain’s pep talk by mentioning how the team played well to reach the final.
In many ways, Kolhi acted like many leaders. Point out the mistakes to the team, but make sure that the team is not demotivated for future games and spur them on to do better in the future.
Paul Barron, goalkeeping coach at Newcastle United, is an advocate of relationship coaching and once described his philosophy as
:: They forget what you say to them.
:: They forget what you do with them.
:: But they never forget how you made them feel!
So, perhaps, it is not just about Kumble said, but it is about how he made them feel. And obviously he didn’t make them feel good after the defeat in the Champions Trophy. Relationship coaching is about coaches connecting with their players, getting to the real pulse of the team, and releasing a powerful collective emotional energy. This very often is the edge that allows teams to survive the bad times and go on to remarkable achievements.
Athlete-coach wars have been on as long as one can remember. Andy Murray for example re-hired Ivan Lendl after the pair decided to call it quits.
If there are no codes of conduct formulated to protect coaches and athletes, then there is risk of a breach in the athlete-coach relationship. So if some of the reports in the press are to believe about Kumble and Kohli falling apart because of a discipline issue, or because Kumble wouldn’t let the players go out shopping for example, this is a fault of not laying down an athlete-coach code. The code in this case would have determined who was wrong and who was right.
Coaches all desire strong team discipline, but do we really understand what that means? Are we willing to do what it takes? Athletes also crave discipline. They crave rules and boundaries regardless of how they may rail against them. Structure and a set of team rules, lets them know exactly what is acceptable and what is not for all aspects of team membership.
You’re NOT a good coach when you call an athlete out in front of the team and tell that athlete, “You absolutely suck! The questions this raises is
Does it motivate an individual to want to work even harder to improve?
Does it help that individual to feel good about themselves?
It;s very much the same in an office atmosphere.
Shastri plays it right when he pats the team on the back when the team wins. A win is a win and needs to be celebrated and is a strong motivation to keep winning.
According to various individuals from the BCCI and CAC as well as the committee of administrators, one big point of difference between Kohli and Kumble was who was the boss.
Shastri is more than happy to let the captain take charge. “It’s always the captain’s team and it is the leader who calls the shots. That’s how it has always worked. A coach’s role, effectively speaking, is to stay in the background and let the onus be on the players. The coach and support staff’s role is to get the players in the most brilliant frame of mind to execute things and if done effectively, it brings enjoyment to the player’s game.”
You’re NOT a good coach if you think that your most important job as a coach is to win games. If winning is the primary goal as a coach, he may have significantly lost his way and as a consequence, he might actually win less! The mission of a coach is to teach the team and help them grow as individuals so that they become better people in the world, both on and off the field. Good coaches teach their athletes how to be better people in the world and they use their sport as nothing more than a vehicle for this teaching. The winning and losing outcomes are completely secondary to the teaching of valuable life lessons.
Iqoo, the smartphone brand which recently announced its entry in India, announced Virat Kohli as its new brand ambassador.
Speaking on the announcement, Gagan Arora, Director-Marketing – Iqoo said: “As a brand, we want to appeal to young, energetic people who are determined to respond to any challenge with aplomb. Virat is the most seamless fit for our brand’s personality, and we are pleased with him being the face of i Iqoo. We are hopeful that our focus on high performance, innovation, and differentiation in the premium segment is well communicated through the campaigns that we are going to drive with Virat.”
Valvoline has launched its latest ad campaign that stars Virat Kohli who is the brand ambassador of Valvoline.
The campaign conceptualised and developed by Leo Burnett will be launched in the form of a TVC and on digital media with a message of ‘Engine Ke Deewane’. Said Sandeep Kalia, Chief Executive Officer of Valvoline Cummins Private Limited: “Through this campaign, we want to establish strong communication with the progressive, responsible and technologically aware automotive enthusiasts. Our campaign focuses on enlightening the consumers on how significant are lubricants for maintaining the performance quotient of an engine. We have tried to communicate the features of our product in the language of our audience. Virat Kohli turned out to be the perfect fit. His image as an automotive enthusiast helped us drive the campaign message of trusting Valvoline further– the brand preferred by those who want the best for their engine.”
Commenting on the new TVC, Arjuna Gaur, Creative Director, Leo Burnett said: “We were surprised to discover that a lot of people are unaware of the engine oil brand being poured into their vehicles. They usually go by what their mechanics recommend. ‘Engine Ke Deewane’ aims at creating more involvement in this category. The TVC is conceptualized in the format showcasing how people who are obsessed with engines, whether a mechanic or a car enthusiast, prefer Valvoline and in turn influence the consumer to trust the brand. It was a mind-boggling experience to work with a brand like Valvoline that celebrates such a strong legacy in the lubricants sector. It takes a lot of courage for a brand to address the message with a dash of humor. ”
Consulting major Duff & Phelps has released findings of the fifth edition of its Celebrity Brand Valuation Study 2019: ‘New is Gold’.
The study provides a ranking of India’s most powerful celebrity brands based on brand values derived from their endorsement contracts.
Key findings from the report include:
• Virat Kohli retains the top position for the third consecutive year. His brand value rose by 39% to USD 237.5 million (mn) in 2019.
• Akshay Kumar jumps to second position with brand value of USD 104.5 mn (a jump of 55.3%).
• Power couple Ranveer and Deepika claim the third spot with a brand value of USD 93.5 mn each. Deepika retains her most valuable female celebrity status for the second consecutive year whereas Ranveer moves up a spot, to now occupy the same position as Deepika Padukone.
• Total value of the top 20 celebrity brands stands at USD 1.1 billion, with the top 10 contributing about 75% of the total value.
Said Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps: “This year we saw the new generation celebrities make it to the top 20. Apart from the celebrities who were featured in last year’s study, this year, we have Ayushmann Khurrana (Rank 10), Tiger Shroff (Rank 17) and Rohit Sharma (Rank 20) with a cumulative brand value of USD 87.5 mn. The industry saw a wave of new faces and concepts with the effective usage of digital media to capitalise on millennials and Gen Z. Even though brands changed their approach of sticking to established actors by roping in new faces, overall the industry managed to stay on course with the perfect blend of traditional and new. The new pedigree of stars also ventured into investments by emerging as ‘starvestors’ (star investors), thus infusing capital in brands that resonated with their values.”
Commenting on the changing nature of the endorsement market in India, Varun Gupta, Managing Director and Asia Pacific Leader for Valuation Services, Duff & Phelps added: “This is the dawn of a new era for the media and entertainment sector. The industry has seen experimentation, be it celebrities moving from traditional mainstream endorsements towards investments in brands, the rise of digital format advertising campaigns, or the onset of over-the-top (OTT) stars who are breaking new ground in endorsements. Brands and celebrities have parallelly adopted the path of conscious advertising and filmmaking by choosing uplifting topics and making the narrative less window dressed, an important facet for today’s Gen Y and Gen Z.” Further, the study focuses on the rising trend of OTT since the upgrade of the India’s digital demography. Regional industries created ripples nationally and globally with OTT proving regional content is no longer a desired state, but a prerequisite for today’s consumer. The study also highlights the new tribe of celebrity endorsers who have become digital stars; they actively involve themselves in social causes and promote brands inclined towards fitness, health and wellness.
The Mumbai-based Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) has unveiled its study on ‘Power Couples’ in India. Called the Sparklers Report, it features a study of the following duos: Virat-Anushka, Deepika-Ranveer, Ranbir-Alia, Akshay-Twinkle, Abhi-Ash and Saif-Kareena… what it bills as “the hottest, and commercially-most-in-demand couples in the country”.
Sandeep Goyal
Said Dr Sandeep Goyal, veteran adperson and Chief Mentor of IIHB: “Power Couples are the new phenomenon in the brand endorsement business with many brands trying to sell aspirational and experiential products to millennial couples who are starting families, using famous couples as the ones to emulate. But there is no empirical research so far on what these Power Couples actually represent or how they are seen by potential audiences. At IIHB we decided to track each one of these trail-blazing couples over a set of 24 important brand attributes,” adding: “There is also an interesting throw-back study on Romantic Couples of Bollywood since Partition, something never researched before”.
Here’s the report:
Who are Power Couples?
A Power Couple is a couple who is famous and accomplished; and together seen to be successful and influential in society. More importantly, each of them is individually successful and influential. Together they are the epitome of what anyone would desire or want in a relationship. Hence, admired and emulatable.
Where did the term Power Couples come from?
It was during the FIFA World Cup 2006 that David Beckham and Victoria Caroline Adams (also known as Posh Spice from her singing days as part of The Spice Girls band) were a toast of the celebrity circuit. With media coverage of the World Cup including the wives and girlfriends (WAGS, as they are called) of the stars, David and Victoria Beckham became the original power couple for Indian celebrities to take a cue from. Today, the term is on steroids in Indian media.
Why did it take so long for India to have its own Power Couples?
The Power Couples Report gives interesting perspectives on how Bollywood and cricket could’ve given us these aspirational sparkler couples much earlier but a long list of famous celebrity couples … Dilip-Saira, Sunil Dutt-Nargis, Rajesh Khanna-Dimple, Amitabh-Jaya, Nawab Pataudi-Sharmila, Dharmendra-Hema, Rishi-Neetu, Gavaskar-Marshneil, Dhoni-Sakshi, Sachin-Anjali, Azhar-Bijlani … somehow fell short of the ‘famous-together’ threshold despite being well-known.
The IIHB Report earlier this year researched current ‘Sparklers’ and the six listed above – Virat-Anushka, Deepika-Ranveer, Ranbir-Alia, Akshay-Twinkle, Abhi-Ash and Saif-Kareena – were shortlisted for a more detailed study. Kajol-Ajay Devgn, Shahrukh-Gauri, Madhuri-Dr. Nene and Priyanka-Nick were also researched but their score together remained below acceptable threshold.
What are the key attributes to Power Couples?
Trustworthy, Respected, Fun, Distinctive, Charming, Different, Stylish, Progressive, and MFEO (Made-For-Each-Other) are some of the key Image, Human and Personality brand attributes that add value to Sparklers. The IIHB study covers 24 such attributes.
Who are the winners?
On select attributes:
TRUSTWORTHY
Rank
Couple
Score
1
Virushka
72
2
DeepVeer
70
3
AksTwink
65
RESPECTED
Rank
Couple
Score
1
Virushka
79
2
DeepVeer
78
3
AksTwink
74
DISTINCTIVE
Rank
Couple
Score
1
AksTwink
74
2
DeepVeer
72
3
Virushka
71
DIFFERENT
Rank
Couple
Score
1
RanbirAlia
81
2
Virushka
81
3
AksTwink
80
TRADITIONAL
Rank
Couple
Score
1
DeepVeer
72
2
AbhiAsh
70
3
AksTwink
68
STYLISH
Rank
Couple
Score
1
RanbirAlia
76
2
Saifeena
75
3
AksTwink
74
Without a doubt, Virushka and DeepVeer top score across most attributes, with AksTwink a respectable third despite being much older. Ranbir-Alia despite not being married (the only unmarried couple in the Top 6) do well too, especially on being seen as ‘Different’. Saifeena are ‘Stylish’ (after all he is a Nawab and she is true-blue Bollywood royalty) but Abhi-Ash who trail on most attributes are seen to be ‘Traditional’.
Pointers from the study
:: All the couples are bunched together fairly close, yet have attributes that differentiate them, hence can be leveraged by brands.
:: Virushka and DeepVeer are very close in imagery … they top score across the attributes.
:: AksTwink are ‘Straight Forward’ and ‘Like Us’, hence most relatable. Brands need to leverage this in communication.
:: Saifeena are ‘Up To Date’ and ‘Stylish’ but ‘Arrogant’.
:: Abhi-Ash are the laggards of the survey. That may not be hard to explain … careers of both partners are largely in doldrums.
“So far very few Power Couple ads have been exceptional … the best, without doubt being the Maanyavar ad of Virushka. But most others including DeepVeer (Lloyd’s), RanbirAlia (Lay’s) and Saifeena (AirBnB) don’t really sparkle on creatives. Advertisers and their agencies need to carefully match brand attributes to those of the celebrity couple and maximize what the duo best stand for”, says Dr. Goyal.
The Romantic Couple survey in the later part of the Report shows various couple combos over the years with the honours going to:
1950s : Raj Kapoor and Nargis
1960s : Guru Dutt and Waheeda
1970s : Amitabh and Rekha
1980s : Amitabh and Parveen Babi
1990s : Shahrukh and Kajol
2010s : Ranbir and Deepika
Amitabh Bachchan is paired amongst the best in two decades with two different heroines. India’s most famous romantic hero Rajesh Khanna doesn’t make the grade despite famous pairings with Sharmila Tagore, Asha Parekh and Mumtaz.
USPL’s apparel line Wrogn, in association with wildlife channel Animal Planet, has launched a new collection – Animal Planet X Wrogn. Conceptualised by Black White Orange, Animal Planet’s licensing arm, each style in the range portrays an endangered animal including the Tiger, Sea Turtle, Gorilla, Sumatran Elephant and Panda, amongst others.
It might not be a coincidence that we use sports terminology in everyday management in our companies. We talk about a ‘pitch’, to a client, or we ask ourselves what is the ‘gameplan’ or when appropriate we say someone ‘dropped the ball’ when we see an error of judgment. Obviously, there is a lot to learn from the field of sports management.
