I am writing this article after reading a blog from my friend and rightly so, any disgust, filth or rotten tomato should be directed at her and not me. Don't we all believe its the instigator who is more accountable than the gullible?
Yes, cricket is my blood, breath, sweat and scar. Especially after we won the 1983 Prudential cup which was a turning point for the game. I have physical scars in me to remind great victories and excitement. Thankfully, we haven't had many victories before I switched my loyalties elsewhere. I have a gash in my forehead when we were playing the 1983 wc semifinal - although I do admit it was partly due to the induction of a new device called Solidaire B&W in our homes. A 4 inch long streak under my right knee when we lifted the Benson & Hedges and when I type this, I can still see the wedge like marks on my knuckles when fellow Veggie Venkatesh Prasad bowled a send off to Aamir Sohail in the quarter finals against Pakistan. Wonder how I got that ? In the heat, I jumped to the roof and the fan blades did the rest.
As a die-hard, I cannot stand ads related to cricket. There are many instances when I think these cricket ads were out of context, meaningless and misleading.
Who can forget the Hamara Bajaj ad with a tri-colour when we were losing wickets in Sharjah against the Paks? What was the ad supposed to convey - buy a bajaj and you will see India winning ?
Reliance cup 1987 - Graham Gooch swept everything that came his way to fineleg boundaries. No wonder England is a cleaner place. To add insult to injury - we were busy showing 'Only Vimal' from Reliance ads after every Indian wicket. I still remember the 'Dinesh suitings' ad was also shown repeatedly when Sunny Gavaskar left home for the day leaving his job unfinished.
2007 world cup - when the brothers in arms (India & Pakistan) were busy making early exits, the little canine was busy chasing kiddies to their schools and running behind school buses. How frustrating can it ever get ? Hind sight, if you get one cricket run for every such chase, you will have beaten the opponent before breakfast.
Ads have to be creative. Yes agreed - they are far more creative today. But are they timed at all? Never. I propose ads to cover every possibility or outcome and transmit appropriate ads during appropriate times.
The present day ads are reminiscent of hunting for photo films for a normal weekend get away when you can as well carry a tiny digi-cam in your pocket.
There is another angle to the ad story that I am angry about, but one I will leave it for later.
