Ad Campaigns
Britannia 5050’s game ‘Fourth Umpire’ puts fans in the Umpire’s seat, this cricket season
Mumbai: Renowned for its deep-rooted connection to India’s cricketing culture, Britannia 5050 is once again in the spotlight, launching the new ‘5050 fourth Umpire Game’ on Google Pay, as the biggest cricket tournament returns to home soil. This marks yet another cricket-inspired activation for the brand that has resonated with third-umpire decisions for nearly two decades now.
In India, cricket goes beyond a mere sport, it’s a cultural phenomenon uniting generations on & off the screen. Britannia 5050 recognises this fervour and launches a unique game that transforms passive cricket viewers into active participants, providing an interactive and engaging experience. This innovative gaming experience is poised to enhance how cricket enthusiasts connect with the sport and with one another during the cricket season. The game offers a unique opportunity for people to step into the role of the fourth umpire and secure prized match passes and cricket merchandise, making it a cricket lover’s dream come true.
What makes this campaign stand out is Britannia 5050’s keen recognition of the profound connection between cricket and the people of India. In a country where cricket is woven into the fabric of daily life, it’s a common sight for three generations to gather in front of the screen to watch matches. Britannia 5050 takes this connection to a new level through its collaboration with Google Pay, providing cricket enthusiasts with a unique and interactive experience directly via the Google Pay platform. This is the first-ever offering of such sort in India in collaboration with Google Pay in India.
Adding a unique twist to this tradition is the audience’s active involvement in umpiring decisions. Considering the fact that almost every Indian household has a cricket umpire, pundit or expert, the aim was to leverage this insight and turn it into an involving game that is loved across the entire nation. This led to the creation of Britannia 5050 fourth Umpire, with the tagline, ‘This Cricket Season, fourth Umpire Will Take All Decisions’. This first-of-its-kind game has over 50 unique gameplay scenarios that will keep the audiences engrossed throughout. So far, this cricketing season, millions of fans have actively engaged with this exciting initiative.
How to Play the 5050 Fourth Umpire Game:
The game invites participants to become the Fourth Umpire, a role usually reserved for professionals. Cricket enthusiasts need to scan the QR code provided on the Britannia 5050 packs, and they can then dive into the action-packed ‘5050 fourth Umpire Game’ on Google Pay. Participants play the game, make umpiring decisions and focus on collecting eight distinct cards that unlock the door to exciting prizes, including cashback, match passes, cricket merchandise, and much more.
Commenting on the campaign, Britannia chief marketing officer Amit Doshi said, “Britannia 5050 is proud to have been resonating with cricket and particularly third umpire’s decision in the past. With an endeavour to be at the forefront of engaging with our cricket-loving audience this season, we are glad to launch the ‘Britannia 5050 fourth Umpire Game’. This campaign is all about uniting fans during the biggest cricket season and providing them with an opportunity to win valuable prizes. All one needs to participate in this thrilling game is a Britannia 5050 pack & the Google Pay app. Over millions of fans have already engaged with us via this intriguing game, and we are hoping this is just the beginning, in a nation that has a ‘4th Umpire’ in almost every household. In today’s connected world, we felt unique ways of engaging with audiences like contextual gamification with the sport that unites millions of hearts, like the 5050 fourth Umpire, shall keep them hooked.”
Schbang founder and managing director Harshil Karia expressed, “Collaborating on this exciting venture with Britannia 5050 has been an incredible journey for us. We are thrilled to be part of a campaign that taps into the passion of cricket and brings fans together in a unique and engaging way. With the ‘Britannia 5050 4th Umpire Game,’ we’re stepping into the hearts of cricket enthusiasts, elevating the traditional cricket-watching experience. It’s all about celebrating the fourth Umpire within each fan’s home, making them an integral part of the game’s action.”
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
