Ahead of India-Pak game, Star Sports puns on 'baap baap hota hai' jibe in ad

The copy of Star Sports' latest spot under the #CricketKaCrown umbrella draws on an old India-Pak jeer slinging match about 'baaps' and 'betas'.

'Crown Cricket ka madamji hum lejayenge...'

If you haven’t heard this catchy jingle as yet, sample the hilarious ads below. That’s the catchphrase of Star Sports‘ advertising campaign for the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. The latest spot in the series comes just days ahead of the big match between India and Pakistan, which, for fans of the game, is a very big event.

As per reports, the the 40-second TVC garnered over 1.7 million YouTube views in just a day post its release on 9 June

The match will be telecast on Star Sports on Sunday (June 16), which also happens to be International Father’s Day, lending additional meaning to the whole 'baap' mud-slinging, something the fifth and latest spot in the series quite clearly draws on.

ICC #CWC19: Cricket Ka Crown Hum Le Jayenge!

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The 'baap baap hota hai' jeering between Indian and Pakistani cricket fans was last observed in all its glory during the 2017 Champions Trophy; it even became a hashtag on Twitter, #Baapbaaphotahai. The origin of the phrase goes further back; in cricketing folklore, those are words India's Virender Sehwag is rumoured to have said to heckle Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar during a 2003 World Cup match between the two teams.

We've been doing #MaukaMauka and #BaapBaapHotaHai since forever. Let them have their quota of fun. And let's all laugh some. May the best team win.

India, that is.😎 https://t.co/VSrXvQ36wQ

— Shreeyash Kotlawar (@shree_k9) June 12, 2019

When ICC @ICC believes in trolling 😂@TheRealPCB Don’t miss to wish fathers day- @BCCI #BaapBaapHotaHai😋 @StarSportsIndia @hotstartweets @cricketworldcup @cricketaakash @virendersehwag pic.twitter.com/8aEijmpFPs

— Suraj Thakur (@SurajTh03041826) June 9, 2019

The campaign has been created by Ogilvy. In a press release, Sukesh Nayak, CCO, Ogilvy, says, "Our big idea came from the thought of coming to England to get the crown. We took a fan perspective to this entire thing...”

The campaign comprises TV, radio, activation, and digital ads.

And yes, the gent in the Pakistan jersey in the films is Vishal Malhotra, the 'Mauka Mauka guy' from Star’s 2015 World Cup campaign.

The new 40-seconder almost seems like a sequel to the previous 'Patake kab phodenge' campaign from 2015 which featured a fuddled Pakistani fan who, since 1992 (up to 2011), didn't get the opportunity to light his victory firecrackers as Pakistan was constantly losing to India.

The recent TVC seems to feature the Pakistani fan's grown-up son (played by Vishal Malhotra of Mauka Mauka fame) who is wished by a Bangladeshi fan for the upcoming Indo-Pak game. As the Pakistani fan refers to his "father's" words of how one must keep trying and should never give up, the Indian fan pops up with his quintessential one-liner - 'maine aisa kab kaha' (when did I ever say that). This suggests that India is the Pakistani fan's indisputable 'baap'.

Meanwhile, we spotted a sizeable chunk of angered netizens who, guns blazing, took to the web stating that the ad is supposedly riding on a jingoistic sentiment and inflaming the political tension prevailing in both the states.

We leave it to the experts to decode the effort.

Aalap Desai

Ram Subramanian

In India, with lots of cricket, comes lots of excitement. According to Aalap Desai, ECD, Dentsu Webchutney, the best way to express this as something that a consumer can take away from the commercial, is through a catchphrase. And, that is bang-on in the series of ads.

"People will probably carry 'Le jaaenge' into the stadiums when the matches are going on. The gang of boys fighting together to decide a winner is a fun way to express the friendly rivalry of the game. The 'baap' pun in the India-Pakistan film is a typical example of conversations such groups have. It's well placed. The overall execution leaves me with a feeling to want-to-watch more of them," he shares.

Ram Subramanian, founder, Handloom Picture Company, feels that the mix of a flavourful jingle and over-the-top characters works in this case as the whole idea was to create something light.

He finds the Twitter fights quite baseless and adds that viewers should just be sporting enough to have a good laugh over it and move on.

Vishal Malhotra, the Delhi-based model who played the part of a Pakistani fan in Star's 2015 Mauka Mauka campaign, turned into a national sensation overnight. However, Subramanian's not sure if the model in this recent campaign will make it big or not. "It depends on what the advertisers do with him post this campaign. Or what he will do post this campaign," he states.

ALSO READ: Vishal Malhotra's Biggest Mauka: Playing a Pakistani cricket fan

"There will never be too many shortcomings when you are advertising for the cricket world cup. Anything that is not a boring channel promo will work. If it has a catchy jingle, decent production value, some humour... that's a win," Subramanian opines.

Agency credits:

Creative Agency: Ogilvy

Production House: Chrome Pictures

Director: Hemant Bhandari

Music composer: Sidhant Mago and Mayank Mehra (Mikelal)

This new ad by Star Sports that extends the famous 'Mauka Mauka' theme and connects it to Father's Day did make me laugh at its cheekiness, but I immediately felt guilty for laughing. I didn't know why and upon some more thought, I thought that it perhaps lacked grace. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/bWV0tQrKan

— Karthik (@beastoftraal) June 10, 2019

2/2 The same grace that the new Ford Endeavour ad was teaching us - when you are bigger and better, you need to act like that! Of course, the joke here is based on historical fact, but it simply sounds like a garden-variety meme on social media when you think about it.

— Karthik (@beastoftraal) June 10, 2019

Mauka mauka was ok but this is too much cricket is a gentleman's game pls let it be🙏🙏

— Gagandeep singh (@singhgagan01) June 9, 2019

Star Sports this is not expected from you! It’s just a game and regardless of your campaign, people are still going to watch #INDvsPAK. Why stoop so low just for TRP’s?

— Gunjan Mehta ✨ (@iamgunjanmehta) June 10, 2019

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🔟 teams, 1⃣ crown, 1⃣ anthem - #CricketKaCrown hum le jayenge! 😍
The ICC #CWC19 begins May 30 onwards LIVE on Star Sports - #AreYouIn? pic.twitter.com/rJBLj7cGLM

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 5, 2019

Know your team well, but know your opponents better. 👊 #TeamIndia is 🆙 and 🏃‍♂ in the ICC #CWC19, and YOU could do your bit to help them win the 🏆 by sending their tips and tricks using #CricketKaCrown! Share your notes NOW and watch #ENGvBAN, now, followed by #AFGvNZ on Star Sports.

A post shared by Star Sports India (@starsportsindia) on Jun 8, 2019 at 1:08am PDT

Watching the entire match with your fingers crossed 🤞? #CricketKaCrown ke liye Vicky kuch bhi karega! 😉 Vicky's performed your matchday ritual to ensure 🇮🇳 has all the luck today. Prepare yourself for #SAvIND comes to you LIVE, 1:30 PM onwards on Star Sports.

A post shared by Star Sports India (@starsportsindia) on Jun 4, 2019 at 11:38pm PDT

All the player give great performance on date 16 the June #FathersDay in #INDvPAK #CricketKaCrown #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/YEAC2mMtHw pic.twitter.com/zWw5qk2JAG

— Saurabh Pandey (@Saurabh15179194) June 9, 2019

Guys the Indian team is taking on Pak on #FathersDay. I think Some things just fall into place wonderfully #INDvPAK #CricketKaCrown pic.twitter.com/StJeHiPYyq pic.twitter.com/HCvoDGHgdu

— Prem Konthoujam (@bungokon) June 9, 2019