MAM
Sprite unveils ‘Thand Rakh’ brand films during ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup
Mumbai: Sprite, the lemon and lime-flavored beverage from the Coca-Cola Company encourages cricket fans to keep their cool during intense moments of matches through a series of brand films on ‘Thand Rakh.’ With the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, the natural impulse to become caught up in the intensity of the game’s heated moments is inevitable. However, Sprite comes to the rescue as the ultimate refreshment to help fans stay cool and composed when the pressure is high.
In a series of captivating TV commercials, a group of friends are shown engrossed in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. While one of them is fixing the house premises, others are glued to the TV without wanting to miss a single ball. As the match’s intensity rises, chaos ensues in the household at the same time. It’s during this pivotal moment that one of them extends an offer of Sprite to the group.
In another exciting and forward-thinking move, Sprite is embracing innovation and encouraging ‘Thand Rakh’ by launching the shoppable Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising campaign during the highly anticipated India vs. Pakistan match on 14 October. As the game’s intensity surges, a rise in temperature is seen on the digital billboard representing Ahmedabad city and Narendra Modi Stadium. The temperature on OOH will change on a real-time basis the excitement levels of the match. In this unique and first-of-its-kind innovation, the intensity of excitement within the stadium is directly tied to the decibel levels, leading to the dynamic adjustment of the temperature displayed on the board.
Coca-Cola India senior category director Sparkling Flavors (India and Southwest Asia) Tish Condeno expressed her enthusiasm for the campaign, senior category director Sparkling Flavors (India and Southwest Asia) Tish Condeno, saying, “The new ‘Thand Rakh’ campaign revolves around embracing the unforgettable intensity that defines sports. Sprite, truly takes ownership of these heated moments, offering a refreshing solution during ICC Men’s Cricket World cup. We are thrilled to provide a cool respite for those impulsive, high-pressure moments that define the essence of the tournament.”
Ogilvy India CCO Sukesh Nayak said, “Sprite is established itself as the go-to brand when life throws situations at you that end up causing heat. The cricket world cup is one such situation. The campaign shows cricket through the lens of life in an interesting way that ends in a comedy of errors. It’s quick, snackable content that drives home the point of when heat strikes, Sprite comes to the rescue.”
Ogilvy India (North) CCO Ritu Sharda said, “The cricket World Cup is the biggest clash of the best teams from around the world. Obviously there will be intense moments and things will heat up. The films show how heated moments from a match get transferred to real life. We took words from the world of cricket and gave it a spin with real life situations where the meaning of the word is completely different. Resulting in heat. Making it the perfect ground for Sprite to come in as the official cooler of heat and to tell people to enjoy the world cup in full, minus the heat.”
The TVCs will go live during matches on Hotstar and Star Sports.
Link to the TVCs:
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
