Oreo & Dhoni World Cup ad: Hit or miss?

Ever since MS Dhoni first tied up with Oreo, the two have been part of some unforgettable campaigns. Who could forget the #BringBack2011 campaign in 2022 that was praised for its execution?

The two have reunited once again for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, this time to ward off any jinxes that will impact India's chances of winning the tournament. An effective way to do it, according to an Indian old wives tale, is to not talk about it.

The new campaign "Oreo bola mat bol" (Oreo says, "don't speak") is a joint endeavour to hush a billion cricket-crazy fans before the World Cup to prevent jinxes.



The 2:10 minute-long ad begins with Dhoni unexpectedly walking into a new room and shushing the anchors up. He patiently explains why talking about cricket will nick India's chances of making it to the finals and winning the World Cup.

It gets a bit dramatic when Dhoni offers Oreos to the anchors and tells them not to discuss the match any further. The anchors appear genuinely confused, wondering what to talk about in the rest of the segment.

A hit or miss?

Samit Sinha, Managing Partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, said that the campaign is interesting however the execution seems underwhelming. He said, “I find the Oreo campaign featuring M.S. Dhoni interesting, mainly because the brand has chosen an unusual advertising format. Another interesting aspect of the campaign is around “mat bol” idea that leverages a widespread Indian superstition about jinxing an outcome by talking about it prematurely. On the other hand, the execution of the campaign seems somewhat lacklustre and underwhelming.”

“I can’t help feeling that despite having a strong creative idea and a popular celebrity like Dhoni, it hasn’t quite managed to fulfil its potential. However, since the intent behind the campaign appears to build quick brand awareness amongst the Indian mass-market consumers, it perhaps does its job adequately. The only real question is whether it missed a trick or two in the execution of the idea," he added.

“Great opportunity has been missed by Mondelez and they have missed the creative rendition which is not done very fluidly and the outcome of it, the reaction of it from the audiences is going to be a question mark as to what was the ad doing. Because for a consumer I do not think it is adding anything such as emotions, functionality, etc. other than asking them to put an Oreo on their mouth when there is an emotion to be expressed”, said Chandramouli Nilakantan, CEO, TRA Research.

According to Nisha Sampath, there is a downside to using Dhoni ad that is the number of brands he is associated with. She said, “The only downside of using MS Dhoni as an endorser, is that the sheer number of brands he promotes reduces the chance of brand recall in users' minds. Also, unless one has a very strong brand idea, people may just remember Dhoni and forget what the brand is talking about. Oreo in my opinion has really utilised Dhoni well, by not just relying on his presence, but also introducing a strong insight. It’s rarely that a brand manages to do both.”

‘Nazar’ during an important event is a concept that will resonate strongly across audiences, both young and old. However, a lot will depend on how well they leverage the insight in the campaign going forward, using it as moment marketing during tense match moments or match analysis for example, she noted.

“In the world where many brands are jumping on the bandwagon of men in blue, Oreo is playing on an Indian theme of ‘jinx’, so that itself is nice. The way they executed it by hijacking the news channel is definitely nice. It is a nice cultural nuance that they have showcased where we don’t have to talk about something which will impact the chances and then using MSD who was the last captain who won the World Cup in 2011, that is a double treat. It is a fantastic campaign which makes people notice Oreo which is one of the players in a very niche cookie category. The campaign has given the brand virality and buzz around the campaign”, said, Business Strategist, Lloyd Mathias.

Way forward during WC and festive clash

With many ads made especially focusing on the World Cup and the festive season, we asked experts as to what they think brands should experiment with. “I think brands have to focus on authentication. AI still remain but brands should also focus on customization and personalization. Brands should customize their communication and make it more personalised," said Mathias.

Nilakantan said, “Whatever everybody is doing, don’t do it and fuel a desire to watch the campaign thereby helping in working out for the brand. Make a mark in the hearts of the people. Don’t follow the crowd, if AI is the theme, brands should avoid it.”