What makes MPL's 'brainy' ad for IPL stand out?

Idiomatic humour, great execution and a big personified brain work in the favour of MPL's new spot, say experts

e4m by Mansi Sharma
Published: Apr 26, 2021 8:36 AM  | 3 min read
MPL campaign
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Much like its competition Dream 11, Mobile Premier League (MPL) has kept the human brain at the centre of its IPL 2021 campaign. While the former has cricketer MS Dhoni asking people to use their brains on the app, the latter uses a slightly different approach to convey the same message by giving the organ a humanoid form. Virat Kohli is seen leading this video campaign, which is currently running on TV and digital platforms. While the industry leaders seem to have mixed thoughts about the ‘Hai Akal To Khelo MPL’ campaign, they agree that the similarity with Dream 11 messaging of “Dimag Lagana Hai To Dream 11 Pe Laga” is a little hiccup. 

Elephant Design Co-founder, Director Ashwini Deshpande comments, “That personified brain looks gross - though quite memorable. The stories are not layered, so the engagement levels dropped after a couple of spots as the narrative was rather predictable. Though, the use of popular culture/ idioms brought to life works in its favour.”

She adds, “Though cricket is already a highly commercialized game, this category is taking it a step further. Telling fans to convert their love of the game into a love of money by stepping into the world of chance (or is it a gamble) is itself uncomfortable. Being a fan is all heart. I am unable to resolve the conflict in asking fans to gamble using 'dimaag,’ whether by MPL or Dream 11.”

Brand-Nomics MD Viren Razdan notes that while the anticipation that each episode in the seven-film campaign works well, the mascot seems a bit lost between the two campaigns. 

He says, “The idiomatic humour of the campaign cuts through extremely well in these episodes. The execution is great and each new ad brings up anticipation of what the next play will be on. When compared to the Dream11 campaign; the same ingredients of fantasy teams Dhoni, Virat & Co, use or don’t use your brains puts it in a stew together with thin lines of differentiation. The mascot seems a bit lost -- whose team is he really into -- much like the messaging.” 

As Deshpande says, the campaign is working on a simmer on a digital platform, with few conversations leading to it. However, MPL’s online competition, requesting people to generate memes out of standardised templates from the ads are surely getting some amazing entries. Have a look! 

Published On: Apr 26, 2021 8:36 AM 
Tags Ipl campaign Dhoni Virat Kohli Ashwini Deshpande MPL IPL2021 viren razdan

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