Thanks to the unbelievable popularity of cricket in India, those playing the sport invariably become bankable faces for brands. People love them, worship them, trust them and that’s all a company wants.
However, here we look at things beyond business. Below are some of the most creative vintage ads featuring Indian cricketers from the days gone by. Enjoy.
1. Pepsi Ad – The one where SRK pretended to be Sachin Tendulkar to get a can of Pepsi, and found himself on the ground to open for India.
2. Hero Honda Ad – The one where Hrithik Roshan played cricket and Sourav Ganguly – believe it or not – danced.
3. Kissan Jam Ad – The one where Rahul Dravid donned different avatars to get his hands on his favourite Kissan jam.
4. Pepsi Ad – The one where the ever-so friendly Indian cricket team got territorial about Pepsi, ahead of a match against Pakistan.
5. Boost Ad – The one where a very young Sachin Tendulkar and veteran Kapil Dev came together to voice the iconic phrase – ‘Boost is the secret of our energy’.
6. Band-Aid Ad – The one which is said to be Sachin Tendulkar’s first.
7. Britannia Milk Ad – The one where Rahul Dravid and a tiny kid race to get the delicious glass of milk.
8. Adidas Ad – The one that attempted to show what Sachin means to India.
9. Xbox360 Ad – The one where Yuvraj Singh and Akshay Kumar enter the world of flying humans with supernatural powers.
10. Nippo Ad – The one where Yuvraj catches batteries and thieves.
11. Pepsi’s Nothing Official About It Ad – The one where Pepsi got back at the official sponsor of Cricket World Cup, 1996 – Coca Cola.
12. World Cup 1999 Ad – The one where Apple Singh reaches the Lord’s and refuses to recognise Geoffery Boycott.
13. Palmolive Ad – The one where Kapil Dev says ‘Palmolive da jawaab nahin‘.
14. Vimal Suitings Ad – The one where legends Vivian Richards and Allan Border came together to promote an Indian brand in the 80s.
Now let’s move to some print ads, shall we?
15. Here’s Kapil Dev for the Palmolive campaign we discussed before.
16. And here is him for posing for Bajaj.
17. Sunil Gavaskar and Imran Khan for Thumbs Up, the kind of association almost impossible now.
18. Here’s Gavaskar again for Dinesh Suitings.
19. And a young Sachin Tendulkar for Bajaj Auto.
20. Finally, Eknath Solkar posing for Phillips bicycle. He played during the 70s.
