This ad reminded me of the countless cricket ads, some featuring cricketers, some with common people, and some with cartoons, that perfectly built up the excitement and tension around a tournament. Here are some of the best and our favourite ads around cricket which we have seen in the recent times.

1. Pepsi Change The Game

My favorite ad campaign of all time came during the 2011 World Cup. In a series of ads, Pepsi imagined how some of the most iconic shots, gestures, and bowling actions in cricket could have been invented. From Sehwag’s uppercut to MS Dhoni’s helicopter shot, from Harbhajan’s doosra to Umpire Billy Bowden’s unique style of giving out, the campaign completely blew my pre-teen-cricket-manic self.

2. Mauka Mauka

Whenever there’s an India vs Pakistan match nowadays, you can see brands leaving no stone unturned to show their presence on social media. However, in terms of capturing the essence of the rivalry, none of them come as close to being iconic as the series of Mauka Mauka ads. Such was the popularity of the series that they kept producing its sequels whenever this particular match was scheduled in a WC, until 2021.

3. Kingfisher Oo La La La Le O 

IPL is celebrated as a festival in our country, and the ‘king of good times’ gave us one of the most memorable jingles from this tournament. I remember the tagline “Divided by teams, united by Kingfisher” being highlighted in the ads when all our favourite cricketers used to sing this in unison.

4. Cred Ads Featuring Cricketers

You must remember the Dravid one where ‘The Wall’ uncharacteristically becomes part of a road rage. With the bat in his hand and coming out of the sunroof of his car, he shouts, “Indiranagar ka gunda hai main.” However, there was also another ad in this campaign where Kapil Dev behaves like Ranveer Singh. In a different ad, some former cricketers were imagined to be part of a boy band.

5. Vodafone ZooZoo

Though technically not an ad featuring the elements or superstars of cricket, you can’t leave ZooZoos out when talking about cricket ads. Those adorable creatures sometimes became more entertaining than the match itself. I remember eagerly waiting for these ads to come in between the break, even if it meant the dismissal of my favourite batsman.

6. 2015 World Cup Intro

Even if you missed this epic ad when it used to air during the 2015 WC, the song has lately been famous on Instagram reels. 2015 was a unique World Cup, it was the first time we consumed this grand event live on our phone screens. So this song was a perfect blend of changing times and the changing nature of the game.

7. Dairy Milk’s Kuch Khaas Hai Ad

You all must have seen the iconic Dairy Milk ad where a woman dances her way into the cricket ground after a player hits the ball out of the park. Cadbury decided to bring this ad back a few years ago. They reversed the gender, now it was a girl who hit the six, and a boy dances and enters the field. However, we are glad that they left the music untouched.

8. Nike – Yards Ad

Before Adidas took over as the kit manufacturer of the Indian Cricket Team, we saw Nike’s swoosh on the Indian jersey all our childhood. During the 2011 World Cup, Nike came up with a brilliant ad campaign called ‘Yards’ that beautifully captures what cricket means to Indians. Even after 14 years, I still get goosebumps watching it.

9. Dream 11, With The Cast Of 3 Idiots

Nowadays, whenever the cast of an old movie reunites, instead of getting excited we get frustrated as we already know it would be for an ad campaign. However, nearly 2 years ago, when Dream 11 came up with the cast of 3 Idiots, it was such a novel concept. They seamlessly blended cricket with Bollywood, the two most popular things in our country.