Star Sports Teams Up With (Bus Driver) MS Dhoni (& His Passengers) To Promote The 2022 IPL

The start of March saw Star Sports launch a new campaign called #YeAbNormalHai / #ThisIsNormalNow to celebrate the return of the Tata IPL 2022.

The campaign, which was conceptualised and created by Tilt Brand Solutions, features Star Sports brand ambassador and Indian cricket legend MS Dhoni who explains how and why craziness around the IPL has become totally normal for fans.

The launch film stars the former India skipper Dhoni as a bus driver who stops his bus in the middle of a busy road and, when the passengers look at him in surprise, he tells them to look outside and watch the match being played out on TVs across the street from the vehicle.

As the passengers begin to complain about the resulting traffic jam, a police officer arrives to question Dhoni who replies by telling the officer that they stopped specifically to watch the IPL match super over – which the police accept as being normal, acceptable behaviour.

It's that time of the year again, when every fan's pagalpan for Cricket is all okay – kyunki #TATAIPL mein #YehAbNormalHai!

Catch the action, LIVE on Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar! pic.twitter.com/pLFxWjD3xf

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 4, 2022

The film was released in seven languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Gujarati – and was supported by a series of social spots exploring the same theme.

Kuch bhi karega to watch #TATAIPL, kyunki #YeAbNormalHai!

What's your plan when the action kicks off?

Watch it LIVE on March 26 on @StarSportsIndia & @disneyplus. pic.twitter.com/AnaMttJuDm

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 6, 2022

“The TATA IPL 2022 campaign seeks to recruit millions of TV viewers and digital users across the country. Structured in four phases, the campaign turns the spotlight on fan frenzy and unique situations typically associated with the tournament as well as the distinct proposition of this year’s edition,” explained Disney-owned Star Sports head Of Sport Sanjog Gupta. “#YeAbNormalHai adequately represents this, tying it with the social context of people discovering a “new normal” in their lives. The launch phase of the campaign strives to create a sense of excitement for the start of the 15th season, which promises to be the biggest ever.”

Comment

The first of the BCCI’s 2022 IPL 70 league matches begins on 26 March and the 10-team tournament will run through to the final on 29 May.