iWorld
Print perfect OTTplay bowls a culture driven campaign
From penguins to passion the brand turns India Pakistan into print powered moment marketing.
MUMBAI: When cricket fever meets front-page ink, sparks are bound to fly. And as the latest India–Pakistan clash gripped the nation, OTTplay decided not just to ride the wave but to print it in bold.
In a move that blends real-time agility with old-school authority, OTTplay rolled out a specially curated print campaign amplified by the century-old legacy of the Hindustan Times network. The strategy is simple but sharp: take the speed of pop culture, anchor it in the credibility of print, and make a sporting spectacle feel even larger than life.
The campaign kicked off during the T20 build-up with a creative inspired by the viral “Penguin” moment that flooded social media timelines. Instead of letting the meme melt away, OTTplay spun it into a witty cricket hook, tying internet chatter directly to the anticipation around the high-voltage fixture. It was playful, timely and unmistakably plugged into the cultural pulse.
Then came the dramatic “U-turn” in the narrative around the India–Pakistan match. OTTplay responded in near real time, crafting a clever print execution that mirrored the emotional swing fans experienced. In doing so, the brand demonstrated that even a medium often seen as static can move at the speed of culture when the thinking is sharp enough.
With Valentine’s Day in sight, the narrative pivoted once again. This time, OTTplay reframed the rivalry through the lens of love and passion, turning cricket’s most intense contest into a metaphor for romance, intensity and emotional investment. The result is a campaign that speaks not only to die-hard cricket followers but to anyone who understands that some rivalries are just another form of love.
OTTplay co-founder and CEO Avinash Mudaliar summed it up succinctly, saying that the India–Pakistan match “isn’t just a game, it’s an emotion,” and that the campaign is about tapping into that emotion in real time. By leveraging the reach and trust of Hindustan Times, he noted, OTTplay has brought moment marketing into a space often perceived as static, turning print into a high-impact storytelling vehicle that marries credibility with cultural immediacy.
The medium choice is as telling as the message. In an era dominated by scrolls and swipes, OTTplay’s use of a 100-year-old print platform signals a deliberate blend of tradition and trend. The creatives are not just ads; they are front-page conversations, designed to stop readers mid-sip and mid-scroll.
As anticipation builds around the marquee showdown, OTTplay’s message is clear: don’t just watch the moment unfold, stream it. As India’s leading OTT aggregator, the platform offers access to more than 30 OTT services, including JioHotstar, Zee5, SonyLiv, Lionsgate Play and Aha, positioning itself as the gateway to the big game and the bigger story around it.
In a season where every ball counts and every headline matters, OTTplay has managed to do both bowl fast in culture and land squarely on the front page.
Gaming
Sony raises PS5 prices for second time in under a year
US disc edition jumps $100 to $649.99 as memory costs surge.
MUMBAI: Sony just hit the pause button on affordable gaming because when memory prices skyrocket, even the Playstation has to pay the premium. Sony has announced its second price increase for the Playstation 5 range in less than a year, citing pressures in the global economic landscape and a sharp rise in memory component costs driven by AI demand.
In the US, the PS5 disc edition will rise from $549.99 to $649.99, a $100 hike while the digital edition increases to $599.99. The more powerful PS5 Pro will jump $150 to $899.99. The Playstation Portal remote player will also rise by $50 to $249.99. The new prices take effect on 2 April 2026.
Similar increases have been applied in the UK (£90 per model), Europe and Japan. Sony last raised PS5 prices in the US in August 2025.
“We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide,” Sony said in a blog post.
The hikes come amid an unprecedented surge in memory prices, as manufacturers prioritise supply for AI data centres. Analysts say Sony had likely secured price protections for components that have now expired, forcing the company to protect its hardware margins.
Ampere Analysis research director of games Piers Harding-Rolls told CNBC that further increases from Microsoft and Nintendo would not be surprising, though Nintendo may hesitate to raise the price of its recently launched Switch 2 while establishing the new platform.
The increases arrive eight months before the highly anticipated release of GTA 6, which is expected to drive strong console sales. However, early reactions online have been a mix of disappointment and resignation, with growing concern that premium gaming is increasingly becoming a hobby for higher-income players.
In a sector already grappling with tariffs, inflation and component shortages, Sony’s move underscores a tough reality: even the most popular consoles are not immune to the rising cost of keeping up with the latest technology.
