The swoosh goes desi...

Nike just did it!!……The international sports major has gotten of its high horse and churned out a cracker of a commercial which is as local as Paav-Bhaaji. I’m sure you’ve had a dekko at this one, and if you haven’t….well, I guess you are probably a hermit, cut-off from the rest of the world, meditating in the upper reaches of the Himalayas (Waitaminnit, even they have cable TV now!!). The point that I’m trying to make over here is that everyone has seen and more importantly noticed this commercial. And for good reason to. If cricket is a sport for the masses then why should its advertising be any different. The commercial is simply dripping with mass appeal and local flavour as represented by a bunch of guys who make the most of a traffic jam by playing an impromptu game of cricket on top of their bus. Here lies the genius of this commercial as instead of using some superstars from the Indian team, it focuses on the common man, which instantly endears it to the blue billion. I agree that its an opportunity lost for Dravid & Co. to rake in a couple of lakhs more but in the larger scheme of things it means another day available for net practice, which is definitely needed.

Oh, and how can I forget about the background score. Simply fantastic. I’ve been told that its in Konkani and if you close your eyes, you can actually picture yourself with a bat in hand on the golden beaches of Goa as a bevy of angelic beauties cheer you on :-)