#SwipeFiles: The ads that jumped on the Pant-wagon

How brands celebrated the epic India vs Australia Test cricket win, and what we can learn about copywriting from their ads

(From L to R): Ads for Dunzo, Zee5, Tide. Images: Instagram accounts @dunzo_it, @zee5mena, @movesofmarketing

I’m still kicking myself for missing this event like a dropped wicket. Tuesday, 19 January 2021, was a historic moment for the Indian cricket team. Not only did they clinch the Border–Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Brisbane by 2–1. They also got Australia their first defeat at the Gabba after more than 3 decades with this Test match. And by acing the target of 328 runs, India also recorded its highest successful chase at the stadium.

The highlight of the match, however, was Rishabh Pant. His 89 not out, along with Shubhman Gill’s 91, channeled India to a momentous victory.

As expected, brands were quick to make the most of this opportunity. The result: an array of creative, interesting ads all over—some not even sparing the Australian side. A few, like Fevikwik, especially took potshots at Australia skipper Tim Paine, mainly to mock his sledging incident during the third Test, which was held at Sydney.

Here are a few of the best posts from Instagram that are already giving me #CopywritingGoals:

(For a list of all the kinds of writing you can do professionally, click here.)

Eye Boutique

The pun game here is simple, yet clever.

Gigzoe

Simplicity in this case, too, makes for a convincing message.

Ishq 104.8 FM

Ravi Shastri’s expression, as if listening to a quaint ghazal, totally matches this radio network’s ishq positioning.

PharmEasy

The words “positive test” shed their fearful connotation when given a catchy spin.

Park Square Mall

Rishabh Pant’s name used for expected but interesting results here. The #SpidermanSpiderman hashtag, an ode to the star cricketer’s crooning moment on the field, livens up things even more.

Dunzo

Inserting ‘Paine’ in ‘pandemic’, depicting Band-Aid strips as cricket stumps—Dunzo knows what it’s going for.

Fevikwik

Fevikwik at its sassiest as usual.

Bumble

This dating-cum-networking app has nailed the profile bio of the moment!

Rampur Distillery, ManForce, Aakash tutorials, Hindware

A couple of these taglines hail cricketer Washington Sundar as well.

Dream11, Tinder, Durex, Fevikwik, Swiggy, ManForce, JioSaavn, KFC, Vodafone Idea, McDonald's

Some clever copywriting on display.

Tide, Kimaye, Pepsi, Fevicol, ixigo, Amul Butter, Pass Pass Pulse, Cure.fit, IndiGo

Some more examples of creative topicals. Tide’s is my favourite among these.

Zee5

The OTT network does a play on the film Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, which is available on its platform.

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