“Cricket in India isn’t just a game, it’s a bona fide religion.” Grey Group India has rather cleverly stamped its client’s brand, Gillette, on all the cricket love that the Cricket World Cup has ignited. And so “Gillette, the best a man can get,” has become “Gillette, the best a fan can get” in an emotional three minute brand film about a man whose life was changed several times by cricket…and ultimately by Gillette brand ambassador, Rahul Dravid.
This is the story: Mangesh Ganpatrao Kadam is a passionate Indian cricket lover. A man who has followed the ups and downs of Indian cricket for the last 35 years or so. After being hit by a ball on his head during a cricket match when he was young, Kadam suffered nerve damage and lost his vision.
But he followed the game with the same passion as he always had by seeing the game through the eyes of his son – Suresh. The game brings father and son together, and their relationship brings the game alive.
Kadam has watched every important moment in Indian cricket history, like India’s winning its first world cup. He has never been able to see India’s great cricketers, but he knows all about. He knows the individual nuances of each player (somebody’s wrists, someone else’s wry smile) that set them apart. He has a special affinity is to the jersey that he wears with pride, even though he has never seen it.
He’s particularly proud that India wears the colours of the sky when they play, and that’s how he identifies the colours. His son is about to get married and go and Kadam is thinking about retiring from watching the game. He says that he’s too old but is, in fact, too proud to admit that watching the game without his son’s company is not the same.
That’s when Gillette’s brand ambassador (and cricketing legend), Rahul Dravid, steps in to surprise him. Dravid starts describing the game the way his son used, and asks Kadam, if he can watch the World Cup with him. Kadam pulls his beloved jersey out of storage, his love for the game reaffirmed.
And this is the film:
Malvika Mehra, national creative director & executive vice president of Grey Group India, commented, “They say fans make the game. No fans, no game. This short film is Gillette’s salute to the passion of every cricket loving Indian fan. Told through a story of a blind fan whose spirit and love of the game clearly overtakes his disability. In today’s overly crowded (and yet ironically isolated) social ecosystem, any sensible brand needs to have larger conversations with its consumers, they need to evoke ‘real feelings’. The age of mere transactional communication is over. We are lucky to have a client like Gillette, who sees that. With this film we hope to touch a much richer space of a ‘real connection’ with the consumer. Leading to a far more satisfying pay off for a brand in the long run”
Rajeev Sathyesh, country marketing manager of Gillette India added, “Gillette, globally has been associated with sports for many years now. As part of Gillette’s endeavour to salute the spirit of all Indian cricket fans, we have launched Special Edition India razors. The new razors have the word, India, engraved on the handle and proudly displays the country’s name and colours.”
Creative credits:
Agency: Grey Group India
Creative Team: Malvika Mehra, Vishnu Srivatsav, Bhavesh Kosambia, Bhakti Ingulkar, Deep Chabria, George Sebastian
Production company: Razor Blade
Director: Rahul Sengupta
Producer: Christopher Wagner
