Sportswear giants at daggers drawn

NIKE JUST DOES IT, REEBOK LINES UP ARMY OF ENDORSERS & FOR ADIDAS IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING

IT IS not just a war between the cricketing nations, the Cricket World Cup is also a slugfest for brands wanting to lure the cricketcrazy fans into their fold. For the sportswear giants Nike, Reebok and Adidas, it is a war to stake a claim on the game as their own. While Team India’s official apparel sponsor Nike is telling the cricket fan to Just do it, Reebok is charging on all fronts with its army of cricketer endorsers. Not to leave out Adidas, which is launching its global campaign to tell the viewer why Impossible is Nothing’. With there being no global sponsor for the apparel category, the field is open to competition and hence, a marketing blitzkrieg. Take Nike. While the Indian cricket team would wear the swoosh, Nike’s latest campaign targets the cricket-crazy fan who breaks out bowling and batting wherever he gets the chance. Nike India marketing director Sanjay Gangopadhya said, “Having dressed up the Men in Blue, we now want to dress up the Indian cricket fans for whom we have launched a new line of products- cricket shoes and the ODI team jersey. We are also involved in below-the-line activities at schools and colleges to provide a brand experience and connect with the youth through our cricket products.” Market leader Reebok has earmarked 30% of its marketing budget for the World Cup campaign. Based on the theme ‘the game is all that matters’, the campaign focusses on the hard work behind the glamour and hedonism. As part of its brand extension, Reebok has also developed a cricket website-rbkcricket- which has live match simulation and online games and will dole out Reebok goodies for the winners. The company is also launching the RBK Fangear consisting of T-shirts and polos of Dravid, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Harbhajan, apart from the ‘Rahul Dravid 10’ signature collection shoe. Not to be left behind, Adidas tied up with cola major Pepsi and launched the Blue Billion authentic fan range of T-shirts, jerseys, scraves and accessories. It will soon launch a new global campaign explaining the evolution of its brand philosophy, Impossible is Nothing. More than 30 international sports stars including Sachin Tendulkar, David Beckham, Lionel Messi and Yelena Isinbayeva would recount their Impossible stories using their own handdrawn illustrations and paintings in the campaign. “We are particularly excited about Sachin Tendulkar being featured in the campaign. With Cricket World Cup fever already on, it would be great for Sachin’s global fans to hear his impossible story from him,” said Adidas India MD Andreas Gellner.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes

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