New Delhi: The game of cricket, once known as the ‘Gentleman’s Game’ has changed much over the decades, Gone are the days when the tournaments were few and far between. The multiple formats it is played in have also ensured the sport is always being played somewhere, round the year. Add the glitz and glamour and the high-stakes as evident in the Indian Premier League matches, and you have fast-paced entertainment, in keeping with today’s times.
Among those who continue to be remembered for embodying the game’s old spirit, however, is former Indian captain and present coach, Rahul Dravid. Dravid was so composed on the field that his innocuous gesture of flinging his cap out of frustration after losing a match for Rajasthan Royals to Mumbai Indians in the IPL playoffs during the 2014 season once was chronicled as a “rare moment” in multiple headlines.
It also garnered thousands of views on YouTube.
True to his moniker of ‘The Wall’, Dravid was tenacious, a man of few words, and a nightmare for test bowlers. But there is another side to this gentleman — his advertising filmography — which truly displays his acting prowess while bringing out his playful side and his sense of humour.
A 2021 ad for Cred, a reward-based credit card app, featured the ‘Indiranagar ka gunda’, a short tempered Dravid losing his cool in the infinitely frustrating traffic of Bengaluru.
The ad was such a stark contrast to Dravid’s personality that it took his fans by surprise and they turned to X (then Twitter) to share their amusement via memes and tweets. It is also one of Cred’s most successful campaigns, said media reports then.
Whole Cricket World After Watching New Version of Rahul Dravid 😝#RahulDravid #Cred #IndiraNagarkaGunda pic.twitter.com/SKzvab2Nc9
— Ashish singh (@lostmypixel) April 9, 2021
Rahul David's acting in #cred is better than Arjun kapoor's entire career. #RahulDravid pic.twitter.com/TEsOzA37R7
— JAISHREEKRISHNA (@shruttitandon) April 9, 2021
However, not everyone did quite take to this ad. In fact, Dravid revealed in an interview with Cred founder Kunal Shah on the firm’s YouTube channel aired 11 July this year, that his mother was uncomfortable looking at him rage like that.
But this wasn’t the first, and hopefully not the last time that Dravid regaled us with his acting chops.
In fact, currently, he can be seen mouthing dialogues in a spoof of the popular Hindi movie of the ’70s, Deewar. The dry fruit & nuts ad shows Dravid in a similar setting as the film’s iconic godown fight scene. As Dravid delivers his lines, in an obvious attempt to sound as gruff as the legendary Amitabh Bachchan, his effort is as endearing as it is honest.
“Field mein humein TheWall bulaate hain,” he says, holding onto a bat, “but dry fruits aur milawat ke beech mein ek he deewar hai, Farmley!”
Even as the characterisation drives up the entertainment quotient, some advertisers debate if this is as good for the recall value of the brand. “Most brands have used him for the character and values he embodies from the day he started doing advertising campaigns. He always added value to the brand and the brand narrative,” said Samir Gangahar, president, north India, of Leo Burnett India, the ad agency which now handles the PepsiCo India’s account.
“However, we now often see a different avatar of Rahul Dravid, which is not true to his nature. While it makes for entertaining and engaging communication, I am not sure if the brand association is as clear. Viewers might remember the ad but not the brand,” he added.
Not everyone agrees with this view. “This ad was primarily aimed at creating a brand recall value so that whenever anyone talks about the ad, they would automatically mention the brand, which it successfully achieved,” said Harshwardhan Harne, an account executive with Cog Culture, another advertising agency.
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Dravid’s ad filmography
From playing a jam-maniac to roadrager, Dravid has taken on many avatars for various ad campaigns.
Some of his TV commercials were so good that they earned him a nickname. The first to come to one’s mind in this category is a jam ad in the early 2000s in which Dravid played ‘Jammy’, a kid willing to go to any length to defy his mother and get an extra slice of bread-jam. He played a little girl, a vampire and a monk — all within the span of 30 seconds.
The ad was so popular that even in the locker rooms, Dravid was called ‘Jammy’ affectionately by a teammate. Speaking about the ad at an awards show aired during the IPL in May 2019, Dravid said, “Perhaps the hardest to do was the ‘Jam Jam Jammy’ ad. My father worked for Kissan Products for 30-odd years. That’s how I got my nickname ‘Jam’ when I started playing the Ranji Trophy. Jawagal Srinath started to call me ‘Jam’ because Kissan was making juices and jam.”
Calling it his favourite ad film, he said, “The shoot for the ad was in Madras (Chennai) in May, and I had to wear all those costumes. I remember throwing up halfway through the ad, probably because of the heat. But in the end it meant a lot to my father.”
In another ad from the same era, Dravid played a clumsy kid contesting with his younger brother for a fresh glass of Britannia Milk. Snippets from the ad have been added on YouTube by Dravid’s adoring fans under headlines calling the ad ‘super cute’.
But his first ad break was a campaign for Pepsi, just a year after his debut in cricket. The ad showed two young women watching him practise. While one of them, clearly a fan, insisted he won’t change, the other one claimed he will keep changing hair styles, and will start partying as he does better. While Dravid stayed focused on his practice, the woman pointed out how he finished up with a swig of Pepsi. To which, Dravid said, “Gotta keep a cool head.” That one line almost foretold Dravid’s demeanour throughout his successful 16-year career that was to follow.
“Pepsi was ahead of its time in advertising. They not only partnered with legends in music, sports, and cinema but also collaborated with emerging stars,” said Gangahar.
Ads or no ads, Dravid has become such a huge brand that he still has a keen fan following, when he does an occasional product endorsement during his stint as the head coach to the current Indian cricket team.
Bishnu J. Pegu, a 22-year-old who has recently finished his PG diploma in journalism, said, “I cannot describe my connection with him. When I was just four, I would be glued to the TV for matches along with the whole family. While I couldn’t understand what was happening in the match, my mother tells me Dravid was the only player I recognised. It’s been a connection with him since.”
He added: “We have grown up watching him as a calm and serious gentleman on the ground. When we get to see his funny side through ads, it is a delightful treat for Dravid fans like me.”
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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