Cutting right to the chase, let’s talk a brand that the mass people of our country and most of the subcontinental people know and can relate to, the Sony Ten Network, which has been our home to European football for as long as one can remember and which will also telecast the entire world cup. The campaign basically deals with the emotions and the roots of how much the Brazils, Argentinas, Germanys mean to us. The tagline for the campaign was #MeriDoosriCountry, which translates to ‘My Second Country’. Throughout the campaign, they’ve come up with four adverts which have gone viral in no time, with two of the four going well over the 2M views margin on Youtube.
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The first ad is an overall on the whole view of India and its foreigners. The video starts off with the daily lives of foreigners in India. With the narrator saying their (foreigner’s) population increasing every 4 years, we see people wearing the colours of the country they support and enjoying, celebrating while watching the match. Referring to many Indians who have joined forces with the Brazilians, Argentines, Germans who live there. The advert then goes on to showcase the passion, the excitement throughout India with all the colour and vibrant activities that take place during the World Cup season. It also shows its humorous side by throwing shade at Italy for not being able to qualify. The best aspect of this is the addition of many elderly people alongside the youth, showcasing that passion for football can’t be limited by age. In the final stage, it shows the anguish of Indian Argentine fans, from youth to the elderly, and the celebrations of German fans; causing a heated coming together of the fanbases. It ends with a line that leaves you thinking, “Because passion doesn’t need a passport, does it?”.
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If you can relate to the first one, you sure can do with the second. In our country, most Brazil-Argentina fans get the support from their parents. This nostalgic tearjerker tells us a story of a father and a son, Shantu, who support Argentina and their journey of watching the world cups together starting from the ‘86 World Cup to the latest edition of 2014 in Brazil while enjoying ‘Jhalmuri’, an almost iconic street food of the Bengali tradition. Throughout this ad, we get to see the technological developments, from those antenna days to the latest editions of Televisions. To put the passing years into context, the price hike of the Jhalmuri is also shown. The dad passes by after 2014, the son becomes a dad himself. With the 2018 edition knocking on the door, another journey begins. The one with the ‘new’ dad and his daughter and of course, Argentina and jhalmuri. If your support of your favourite footballing nation is inspired by the real life Superman of your family, be sure that it’ll make you remember the fond memories of the old times. Enjoy the ad with your dad while you’re at it.
During the educational lives, many people go to abroad or different states within the country to be admitted into their preferred institutions. In such cases, some people move in with families in their homes as ‘paid house guests’.
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Our 3rd advert of this series shows the life of one such medical student of India who went to Goa from his hometown Pune. Luckily for him, the people he’s been around since his first year days are also Portuguese fans like him. The video shows how that generous family treated him like a family member and not just another guest, how they bonded over football and Portugal. Now he’s in his final year and this will be the first and last World cup with his second family. The video ends with everyone shouting ‘Forca Portugal!’ together, bringing in the World Cup hype. A poignant advert nonetheless.
[ot-video][/ot-video] Disclaimer: The video only plays on YouTube. Click the link to be redirected.
The last one on the list is for all the introverts out there who lets themselves loose during the World Cup. This advert showcases a very introvert husband named Chetan and the story of his marriage life. Chetan is so shy that even when his wife gets involved in a heated exchange of words with a stranger on the streets, he doesn’t interfere even then. But as the saying goes, there’s a party animal inside everyone. On one night during the 2014 World Cup, Chetan’s wife woke up to see his husband not sleeping beside her. She walks into another room, and to her utter disbelief, she sees her husband jumping up and down like a circus monkey; celebrating Neymar’s goal for Brazil wearing a ‘Selecao’ top. He sees his wife and immediately lifts her up in his arms. The advert ends in anticipation of the 2018 world cup, where the couple both are now wearing Brazil jerseys and supporting the 5-time World Champions, basically referring to the power of football in breaking the third wall between a couple.
With this campaign, Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPNS) is reportedly targeting a ₹2 billion payoffs from FIFA World Cup. This is the ad sales and on-air sponsorship money that the broadcaster is which is a jump of over 50% from the last one, according to reliable sources. Some of the potential advertisers include Airtel and Hero MotoCorp. In 2014, SPN had earned close to ₹1.3 billion in ad sales from the World Cup, with spot rates (ad rates per 10 seconds of commercial time) ranging between ₹150,000 and ₹170,000. This year, the network aims to sell inventory at ₹200,000 to ₹225,000 per 10 seconds. The matches are going to be telecast in four languages- Hindi, English, Bengali and Malayalam.
Be sure to join us for the next in line for the series. Which brand? Let’s keep that a surprise. Ciao!
Written by Quazi M. Nazmus Saquib Bin Nizam
