In India, cricket and cinema aren’t just entertainment—they’re deeply woven into the fabric of emotion and identity. EMotorad’s latest advertisement taps into both, featuring MS Dhoni and filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga in a playful recreation of Animal. The ad has quickly gone viral, sparking discussions on social media about its creative execution and strategic marketing approach.
At the heart of the campaign is a clever use of nostalgia and pop culture references. The ad opens with Dhoni making a dramatic entry, mirroring Ranbir Kapoor’s in Animal, complete with the film’s intense background score. Vanga, appearing as the director, praises Dhoni’s performance, leading to the cricketer delivering the now-iconic line, “Behera nahi hoon main, sunai de raha hai mujhe!” (I am not deaf, I can hear) The ad then takes an unexpected turn, as Dhoni reenacts a pivotal moment from the film’s climax.
The campaign has ignited a frenzy online, with viewers praising the execution. One social media user quipped, “EMotorad got Thala and Vanga together before GTA 6!” while another noted, “This is the first ad I’ve Googled myself and watched five times!” The crossover of sports and cinema, two of India’s biggest entertainment industries, has struck a chord with audiences.
“The idea came up when Aakash from OHC (One Hand Clap) wondered how it would look if Sandeep Reddy Vanga directed our ad. We just built on that,” he said. “MS and Sandeep are two larger-than-life figures, and bringing them together made for an engaging visual experience,” Aditya Oza, CMO, EMotorad told BrandWagon Online.
The strategy behind the ad aligns with EMotorad’s broader marketing goals. “The aim is to maximise organic reach,” Oza added. “Our audience is diverse—while Tier 1 consumers buy our e-bikes for fitness, Tier 3 consumers look at them for cost savings. We wanted a campaign that speaks to both.”
Naveed Manakkodan, founder of OHC, emphasised the agency’s approach to brand storytelling. “When a brand comes to us, we don’t just make an ad—we focus on delivering the best ROI,” he said. “Our collaboration with EMotorad has resulted in four major campaigns that collectively garnered over 300 million organic views last year. The biggest validation of our work is the sheer noise it generates on the internet.”
The campaign will be amplified across digital platforms, social media, and news channels, reinforcing EMotorad’s positioning in the electric mobility space while leveraging the power of moment marketing.