There’s nothing India loves more than cricket and entertainment. The IPL which began in 2008 has always been associated with its witty ads and marketing. Its format provides the perfect platform for advertisers and brands to address the entire nation at one go, being one of the most highly watched sporting events in India.
From the iconic ZooZoo’s to Kingfisher’s catchy ‘Oo la la la la le O’ tune, here are some of the most memorable and popular ads we have seen during the IPL.
Vodafone – ZooZoos
The second season of the IPL gave viewers one of the most popular advertisements, the beloved Vodafone ZooZoos. Who can forget the little white creatures who had become almost synonymous with the IPL.
Created by Ogilvy and Mather, this was one of the first unique IPL campaigns. As the cute egg-headed creatures revealed Vodafone’s services through their gibberish wit, games and gossip, they took India by storm, becoming characters featured on t-shirts, bags, keychains and more.
Pepsi – Oh Yes Abhi
This 2013 campaign featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and MS Dhoni, captured the pulse of the nation, its impatient youth and redefined living in the now for a whole generation. Pepsi encouraged its young consumers to go out and grab their opportunities rather than sit and wait around, perfectly encapsulating the spirit of the IPL.
Swiggy – No order too small
With food being one of the integral components of cricket-viewing, Swiggy leveraged the match watching experience of most Indians at home with an innovative approach to show that no order is too small, and they would deliver anything for their consumers, including one single Gulab Jamun.
This 2018 ad effectively portrayed its message without the use of any dialogue and helped Swiggy increase new user orders by 23%.
Disney+ Hotstar – India Ki Vibe Alag Hai
Disney+ Hotstar released a multilingual anthem for IPL in 2021 capturing the very essence of the intercity IPL, showing people glued to their screens with bated breath in every situation as their city plays the match.
Featuring lyrics in eight different languages, the song accurately captures the emotions of every single Indian during the highly anticipated IPL matches, truly showcasing India’s unique vibes.
Kingfisher – Divided by teams, United by Kingfisher
Speaking of iconic anthems, Kingfisher’s ‘Divided by teams, United by Kingfisher’ campaign brought one of the first tunes that defined the IPL. Capturing the sportsmanship and camaraderie that brings players of different teams together for Good Times, we can still hear the ‘Oo la lala le o’ being sung by our favourite cricketers year after year.
Dream 11 – Sab Khelenge
Fusing India’s two favourite obsessions, Bollywood and Cricket, Dream11 brought together the cast of 3 Idiots in a memorable campaign featuring a series of ads where the three actors engage in humorous banter with each other and the cricketers to drive the message that the IPL will be more enjoyable when ‘Sab Khelenge’.
Zomato – Zomaato vs Zomaito
Zomato’s latest IPL ad is one for the books. The campaign featuring 10 films, each cheering for a different team, brings back their classic Zomaato vs Zomaito debate featuring Ranveer Singh and Chris Gayle.
Zomato cleverly used JioCinema’s language customisation feature to bring to life the contextual ads for different states using local languages. This ad captures the cricket fever of the nation, no matter which city or state one is in.