Culture Round-Up: Cricket, Oscar slapgate & more kept the web buzzing in March

March was quite an eventful month with Indian Premier League (IPL) starting, Oscars announcements, and cinemas opening up in a big way after two years of the Covid scare. With the pandemic finally easing, the netizens had a lot to talk about apart from Covid in the past month, and sports, celebs, and entertainment world gave them enough reasons to keep the space buzzing.

Nothing beats some cricket frenzy

When it came to sports, cricket remained the top spot-holder like always with football being a close second. The IPL has been driving a lot of conversations on social media and MS Dhoni handing over the regions of Chennai Super Kings being one of the most talked-about events. Women’s World Cup also got a lot of interest flowing. Apart from cricket and football, kabaddi saw a massive surge in discussions because of the Pro Kabaddi League.  

Additionally, Lakshya Sen getting a silver at the All England Open; PV Sindhu defeating Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the final to win the women's singles title at the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament 2022; and World no. 1 Ashleigh Barty retiring from tennis were some of the most discussed events in the sports category.

From Pizza Toppings to Oscars

There were a lot of interesting and exciting occurrences in the ‘Other’ category, as defined by the report. Pizza Toppings trended on Twitter as Haryana Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) stated that pizza topping is not pizza and thus should be classified differently for GST purposes. Brands and netizens celebrated International Women’s Day and people’s interest in shares and the stock market sky-rocketed.

On the other hand, the entertainment section saw a lot of discussion around the Oscars, wherein along with the big winners including CODA (best picture), Encanto (best animated film), Drive My Car (best international film),Jessica Chastain (best actress), and Will Smith (best actor), the latter slapping the host Chris Rock drew a lot of chatter.

Kashmir Files and RRR spreading the magic

When it came to content, Kashmir Files and RRR ruled both the box office as well as conversations on social media. On OTT- MX Player was the most popular platform across India. Disney+Hotstar finally overtook MX Player to become the biggest OTT platform. Jalsa, Badhaai Do and 83 were amongst the most popular films. Kangna Ranaut’s Lock Upp, Apharan S2 and Rudra were among the most popular series.

‘Thoda Ruk Shah Rukh 2.0’ by Disney+ Hotstar also saw a lot of conversation with several actors including Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn engaging in social media banter. 

Trending ad campaigns

Popular brand campaigns were primarily in two realms: the celebration of Women’s Day and IPL.

Ageas Federal Life Insurance used deepfake tech to recreate young Sachin Tendulkar in the latest campaign.

 
Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle left a mysterious impression on an Instagram Live event with a sports journalist, leaving several viewers wondering what happened and showing concern for his well-being. The dots connected when Fantasy Akhada revealed a campaign featuring him. 

Cadbury Dairy Milk celebrates the unsung heroes of cricket in new ad films The brand has partnered with Mumbai Cricket Association to celebrate and support the ground staff. Further, they have become their official sponsor. 

Ariel Hits All The Right Notes With The New ‘Share The Load’ Campaign- In a riveting ad film this year, Ariel asks a very significant question – Why is it easier for men to divide household chores with each other, but not with their wives?