With the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup concluding on Sunday, PepsiCo India has yet again managed to gain the limelight, even as Coca Cola is the official sponsor. The brand had roped in 16-year old cricketer Shafali Verma as the ambassador ahead of the finale which coincided with International Women’s Day.
Verma who currently is the number one player as per ICC Women’s T20 International rankings was promoted as the new ‘Swagstar’ for Pepsi’s youth-centric campaign ‘Har ghoont mein swag’ a few days before the finale. “This Women’s Day, we chose to celebrate the spirit of womanhood by associating with Shafali Verma, someone who resonates with the SWAG traits of self-confidence and self-belief and is a trailblazer in the sports field,” Tarun Bhagat, director marketing, Hydration and Cola, PepsiCo India said.
The teen cricketer who had shared her enthusiasm for the brand on Instagram began to trend after India lost to Australia in the final games. “Pepsi as a brand is the underdog in the market and being nifty and guerilla is one of the essential traits of an underdog brand. This is a perennial cola and Pepsi game from the past and in this case, Pepsi has taken the lead,” Harish Bijoor, brand expert, said.
Additionally, the beverage brand rode the moment marketing wave post the conclusion of the match. “The nation stands with its women. You make us proud,” the official instagram handle of the brand wrote on International Women’s day, tying it back to their campaign with #HarWomanMeinSwag.
It all began last year when in a similar stint, Pepsi had roped in 87-year old octogenarian Late Charulata Patel as ‘swagstar’ ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The brand was able to gain a larger pie of the cricket fan’s popularity with leading names such as Indian Cricket team captain Virat Kohli, cricketer Rohit Sharma, and businessman Anand Mahindra coming forward to support her love for the game. This was a classic case of Cola war making its way back. PepsiCo India’s move allowed the brand to generate over 29 million views on Youtube alone for its fan anthem featuring the octogenarian.
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