The survey encompassed 36 cities, including metros, tier 1-2-3 towns, and NCCS A/B, resulting in SCORE ranking the top 10 ads that performed best during the IPL season.
India’s largest sporting event, the Indian Premier League, attracts nearly 130 million viewers each season, making it a lucrative opportunity for brands to market themselves. While cricket teams battle it out on the field, brands compete for the attention of the audience.
As a result, the country witnesses some of the most impressive advertisements of the year during the IPL season. However, amidst a flood of ads supported by substantial budgets and celebrity endorsements, only a handful manage to make a lasting impact.
To determine the effectiveness of IPL advertising, SCORE, a tracker developed by Synchronize, meticulously evaluated the ads released during the four-week period of IPL 2024. This survey spanned 36 cities, including metros, tier 1-2-3 towns, and NCCS A/B areas. Based on the results, SCORE ranked the top 10 performing advertisements during the IPL season thus far.
By utilizing its unique CPS (Creative Power Score) framework, SCORE assessed the effectiveness of each brand’s IPL advertising during this specific timeframe. The analysis was conducted separately for different avenues and types of brands, including high spenders, low spenders, and sponsors.
IPL 2024 has attracted over 200 advertising brands, showcasing a wide array of sectors and industries. These brands encompass different stages of the brand lifecycle, ranging from well-established icons like Tata Salt, Pepsi, and Cadbury’s Dairy Milk to emerging new age brands like Rapido, Groww, and Tata NEU. This diverse mix of brands highlights the opportunity for any brand to stand out from the competition, as long as their campaign aligns with their brand values, effectively communicates a clear message, and includes a decisive call to action. V Sudarshan, CEO and Co-founder of Synchronize India, emphasizes the importance of consistency and clarity in brand campaigns.
“Crafting a successful marketing campaign for the IPL necessitates a thorough comprehension of the audience’s preferences, the essence of the event, and the platform’s dynamics. Depending on the sector in which the brand operates and the brand’s values/promise, their campaign may possess most of these characteristics.” – Vishal Baghel, Director, Synchronize India.
Sudarshan highlights that the top 10 brands not only come from a diverse range of sectors but also represent different stages of their brand lifecycle. He mentions that well-established brands like Pepsi, Tata Salt, and Cadbury are featured alongside new age brands like Rapido and Groww.
According to the CEO of Synchronize, this trend suggests that in order for any brand to stand out among the 200 advertisers, they need to do more than just spend a large amount of money. The key is for their campaigns to align with the brand values, deliver a clear message, and be distinctive in their recall.
Sudarshan also points out that all 10 ads in the list have clear storytelling, feature celebrities, incorporate humor, and make cultural references.
When it comes to celebrity endorsements, Cadbury stands out with its unique approach. Sudarshan notes that the focus is on the celebrity endorser’s coach.
Sudarshan emphasizes that creating a marketing campaign for the IPL requires a thorough understanding of the audience’s preferences. Additionally, he highlights the importance of capturing the essence of the event, considering the advertising platform, and incorporating creativity and entertainment to embody the cricket fever. Celebrity endorsements, especially from cricketing celebrities, are also highly recommended for successful campaigns in the IPL season.
The existing data encompasses both TV and OTT channels, encompassing advertisements from Tata Salt, Dream11, Sprite, Pepsi, Tata Neu, Airtel Xstream, Rapido, Groww, Lloyd, and Cadbury Dairy.
Tata Salt (81)
Leading the pack is Tata Salt, whose advertisement features the iconic “Namak ho Tata ka, Tata Namak!” jingle secured the top spot with a CPS of 81. Created by Ogilvy, the campaign was launched in March and consists of a series of 11 lighthearted films showcasing the jingle’s role in various moments of a consumer’s daily life.
Dream 11 (79)
Dream11’s advertisement for the IPL featuring a diverse cast achieved a CPS of 79. Launched in the middle of March, the ad included appearances from various celebrities. The promotional video was helmed by Nitesh Tiwari and developed by Tilt Brand Solutions.
Sprite (78)
Sprite collaborated with Kapil Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav for the ‘Joke in a Bottle’ campaign during the IPL season, achieving a CPS of 78. The ad was created by Ogilvy.
Pepsi (77)
Pepsi, a brand with a strong association with cricket, reintroduced its renowned ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ campaign, which gained popularity in the late 90s. Launched in the beginning of March, the advertisement created by Leo Burnett and featuring Ranveer Singh, achieved a commendable CPS of 77, securing a spot on the SCORE topper’s list.
Tata Neu (77)
Tata Neu’s “Rukna Kyu” campaign has secured a prominent position at the 5th spot, boasting a remarkable Creative Power Score of 77. These bite-size ads have emerged as one of the top advertisements for IPL 2024.
Airtel Xstream Fiber (77)
Airtel Xstream Fibre’s advertisement collaborated with Tata Neu, achieving a CPS score of 77. The conceptualization of this ad was done by Fundamental. It secured the 6th position on the list of top-performing IPL ads in 2024.
Rapido (76)
Rapido, the ride-hailing company, achieved a remarkable score of 76 on CPS with their IPL campaign in 2024. The creative execution of this campaign was entrusted to the boutique agency, The Other Half, who skillfully produced a series of short films lasting between 15 to 20 seconds, each infused with a delightful touch of humor. Notably, this advertisement secured the prestigious 7th position among SCORE’s top-performing ads for IPL 2024, making it a standout success this year.
Groww (75)
The campaign for IPL by the financial services platform Groww app secured the 8th position with a CPS score of 75. The advertisement highlights the advantages of utilizing Groww as a provider of investment solutions. The campaign was launched simultaneously with the commencement of the 2024 edition of the cricket tournament.
Lloyd (74)
In the initial week of April, the renowned AC brand Lloyd commenced its IPL 2024 advertising campaign, featuring the esteemed couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. This campaign, skillfully crafted by McCann Worldgroup, has achieved a remarkable score of 74 and secured the 9th position among the top 10 IPL ads.
Cadbury Dairy Milk (73)
Cadbury Dairy Milk’s campaign “Thank You, First Coach” was designed to honor the individuals who played a significant role in shaping India’s top cricketers. The campaign specifically highlighted the mentors of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, showing appreciation for their contributions. This 2-part campaign series was created by Ogilvy India and ranked 10th on SCORE’s list of top-performing IPL creatives with a CPS of 73.
A daily tracking system utilizing the DAR methodology monitored the brands that were recalled through various channels such as TV and OTT ads, sponsorships, logos on the field, jersey logos, etc. The data collection was carried out using the Unomer mobile market research platform.
