Airtel 5G recreates iconic moments of India’s 1983 Cricket World Cup match

The film recreates Kapil Dev’s unrecorded 175 not out innings versus Zimbabwe in Tunbridge Wells, UK.

Leading communication solutions provider Bharti Airtel recently organised an event, where Kapil Dev’s hologram, powered by Airtel 5G, appeared on the stage and interacted with the audience.

The legendary cricketer’s famous 175 not out versus Zimbabwe, during the 1983 Cricket World Cup, never made it to the screens due to a strike by the broadcasters that day. It is one of the best one-day innings ever.

The brand unveiled a film where, using immersive technology, it recreated Dev’s unrecorded innings. The film was conceptualised and created by Leo Burnett India, and produced by Prodigious India.

The film recreates the iconic moments and uses technology to transport the audiences back in time to Tunbridge Wells, UK, where the match was being played. This idea was brought to life using deepfake technology, giving viewers an immersive and futuristic content viewing experience.

The video was showcased at an exclusive viewing, through a personalised 4K video experience of the match on 5G smartphones, with real-time access to multiple camera angles, 360-degree in-stadia view, shot analysis and stats. This was followed by a virtual interaction with Dev using a hologram.

Speaking about the campaign, Rajdeepak Das, CEO and chief creative officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett, said, “To truly bring the power of technology to life, we decided to give the audiences a never seen before experience – quite literally. We recreated the 1983 World Cup match, where Kapil Dev scored a 175 not out….”

Vikram Pandey (Spiky), national creative director, Leo Burnett, added, “I have grown up listening to stories about this innings, but the fact it was never recorded came as surprise. Recreating that 175, young Kapil and Tunbridge Wells was an amazing experience.”

Campaign credits:

Agency: Leo Burnett

CEO & CCO – South Asia, Leo Burnett: Rajdeepak Das

CEO & CSO – South Asia, Leo Burnett: Dheeraj Sinha

National creative directors: Vikram Pandey, Sachin Kamble

Associate executive creative director: Sudhir Das

Creative team: Geo Joseph, Kiran Talegaonkar, Rohan Madav, Kunal Khade

Creative director: Piyush Gupta (Ex LB)

Branch head : Samir Gangahar

Executive vice president: Jaikrit Singh

Brand services director: Aliasger Tonkwala

Senior brand associate: Hitesh Poddar

Production house: Prodigious India

Director: Harsha Prabhakar