When SET Max went to bid for the television rights of BCCI-led Indian Premier League (IPL), they positioned IPL as the ?Baap of all Manoranjan? (father of all entertainment). So when the broadcast rights were finally given to SET Max in lieu of $1 billion, T Gangadhar, VP and marketing head, SET Max says that the same policy was followed while creating the campaign. ?Since IPL matches are slated during prime time, and it is up against all the usual soap-operas and K serials, the biggest challenge was to capture single TV households and make them believe that IPL can be the greatest source of entertainment, even more than their regular, never-ending soaps. Therefore, the campaign is an exaggeration of the strategy that we presented to BCCI.?

Set Max is pretty pleased with the phenomenal recognition that IPL has received from audiences. The reasons are many. ?A typical cricket tournament is a mixture of weak and strong games. For example, a match between Zimbabwe and Kenya is a weak game. However, there are no weak games in IPL. To that respect there are many firsts and dynamic stakes are involved,? adds Gangadhar. So, the marketing and advertising that SET Max has chalked out for IPL includes one 75-second television commercial, which was launched on April 3. Besides the ad film, Max will promote the campaign in 150 towns through on-ground activities. These will involve contests, merchandising and other activities. Print is not being used as a medium of communication for the campaign. However, outdoor advertising, radio and the Internet will form a crucial part of the promotional mix. Gangadhar refused to disclose the media budget for IPL but said, ?We have spent four times more than what we spent during the last ICC World Cup.? Industry sources estimate that the entire media spend could be in the region of Rs 30-40 crore. The plot of the TVC is a spoof on old Hindi blockbuster flicks like Deewar and Karan Arjun. Steeped in nostalgia, the film starts with a young mother giving birth to twin boys. As soon as they are born, the nurse hollers for their father, saying, ?Inka baap kaun hai? (Who is the father?)? But there?s no answer. The twins are called Mano and Ranjan. The children grow up without their father. After eight years, their mother is still hopeful that one day, their father will surely return. By then, it?s become the norm for people such as the local pujari (priest), kiranawala (small shop owner) and chapris (roadside romeos) to taunt the kids with the question, ?Kab aayega tumhara baap?? (When will your father return?). Tired with all this, the three lead a hopeless life. But one day, the bells in the temple ring and the kids scream for their mother, saying, ?Maaaaa! Baaaapppuuuu.? The mother knows that the wait is over. She puts vermillion powder in her parted hair and enters the house. The voiceover says: ?Aa gaya Mano-Ranjan ka baap ? DLF Indian Premier League. Sirf Max par.?

The creative agency that worked on this commercial is TBWA-India and the film has been directed by Rajesh Krishnan of Soda Films. The campaign will be aired extensively on television ? on SET Network channels as well as other general entertainment, news, music and regional channels across India. ?At the end of the day when I am talking about IPL it has to be entertaining. It is not that we decided that the tone of voice of the commercial will be funny. Being funny was not an end by itself. Therefore, in the effort to make it entertaining and larger than life the campaign also became humorous,? quips Gangadhar. Now, only if an entertaining campaign gets translated into favourable TVRs. Says Shashi Sinha, CEO, Loderstar Universal: ?The television ad rates are extremely high and the ratings are not guaranteed. Because of the supply and the demand, everyone is getting on to it. The ad rates are as high as Rs 2 lakh per 10 seconds. Moreover, the risk is higher because the matches are scheduled at prime time and are pitted against all popular serials and other television programmes. The tournament will go on continuously for 44 days without any break and so we fear that some kind of fatigue may also creep in.?

The biggest challenge is to predict the viewership, admits CD Mitra, CEO, Optimum Media Solutions: ?It is a big gamble for all those who have invested in it and also for those who haven?t. For most programmes the value and money is preceded by some evaluation. But in case of IPL the variations of prediction are very large.?