eSports and mobile gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL), launched a national print and TV campaign in India called ‘Maidan Naya, Khel Wohi / New Playground, Same Game’ with a dual objective of it increasing participation and generating wider awareness of and recognition for eSports.
The campaign, developed in harness with MPL’s in-house creative team, was fronted by Indian Olympic medallist and multiple Grand Slam Winner Leander Paes and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Geeta Phogat. The two brand ambassadors feature in a hero film highlighting how the same skillsets needed to excel in traditional, physical sports is also required in eSports.
The hero spot, titled ‘The Next Medal Could Be From eSport’, rolled out on 16 March and focused on messages about skill and practice and what it takes to build a legacy.
It was supported by social content and linked via the #MaidanNayahainKhelWahi hashtag.
“eSports witnessed exponential growth in 2020. With esports being included as a medal sport by the Olympic Council of Asia, I believe that India will see a rise in many successful eSports athletes,” commented Mobile Premier League CEO and Co-Founder Sai Srinvas at the campaign launch.
“Not just this, we hope to soon see some “Made in India” games being played at international sports events like the Asian Games. The aim of this campaign is to unleash the power of eSports and bring it on par with physical sports. Esports today is accessible to all due to the availability of data and affordable devices, thus making it easy for more people to participate. This growth needs to be supplemented with solid regulations and government support.”
Tennis star Leander Paes added: “To become a champion in any sport, one has to undergo hours of rigorous practice and training. In India, we have many champions that have achieved remarkable successes at various skilled games. Now with the emergence of esports, it gives us another platform to showcase the tremendous talent and skill that our country has. With the “Maidan naya, khel wohi” campaign, we aim to carry forward the same ethos of practice, training, and skill, in the arena of esports, and get us some new champions to make the nation proud at the global stage. I am glad to partner with MPL on a campaign that talks about the potential and importance of esports in the country.”
The campaign was developed in-house with Creative Director Anita Rane and Brand Communications Lead Mirza Mohammed Ali Khan and also saw production input from Citrus Production .
Comment:
This continues MPL’s strategy of featuring famous traditional, physical sports stars front and centre of its marketing: for example, other recent digital work has included Indian cricket skipper Virat Kohli.
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