RCoM won't drop Sachin ads

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications (RCOM) will not withdraw the ad campaigns featuring Sachin Tendulkar despite objections raised by Hutchison Essar (HEL) with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in this regard. RCOM, being accused of “ambush marketing” by Hutch, will continue the World Cup campaigns with the ace batsman for its “planned duration”.

“We have not heard from ICC or anyone else in this regard. The campaign will run for its planned duration of three weeks,” RCOM branding head Sanjay Behl told ET.

While Hutch is one of the official sponsors of the ongoing Cricket World Cup, RCOM is cashing in on the popularity of Sachin through endorsements. RCOM has been endorsed by Sachin in TV, outdoor as well as press campaigns, which goes against Hutch’s entitlement.

Peeved by this, Hutch has written over ten letters to ICC to stop RCOM and Sachin from going ahead with the campaigns. ICC, meanwhile, has informed Hutch that the campaigns will be withdrawn. “ICC has told us that the advertiser has confirmed that ads will be withdrawn shortly,” a Hutch spokesperson told ET.

The six week-long World Cup is already in its second week and no action has been taken yet. “As per our contract with ICC, we are entitled to none of our competitors using endorsements of a participating player in the World Cup. We asked ICC to use their offices and take the necessary steps and instruct RCOM and Sachin to desist from this activity during the World Cup,” the Hutch spokesperson said.

RCOM has launched Sachin Nazara Pack for Rs 99 per month, allowing users to hear unlimited score updates in Sachin’s voice besides access to all Sachin-related content including wallpapers, ringtones, games, Sachin diary and more.


In response to an e-mail, an RCOM spokesperson said, “Reliance has ensured that Sachin doesn’t have any objection to his image being used in creative elements to promote Nazara content on our mobile platform.”

RCOM spokesperson added that, “Sachin VAS content developed and distributed by Nazara (the sole licensee for Sachin Tendulkar) does not directly compete with any sponsor of the World Cup.

They can sell, market, advertise and promote their content before and during the period of the World Cup via any operator, media across all platforms as they are the owners of the content.”

An e-mail to ICC in this regard remained unanswered. In a similar case, Tata Teleservices had roped in Sourav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan for their campaigns during the Champions Trophy in 2004. However, after ICC handed out a warning to the Indian skipper and Irfan over the advertisement that breached its ambush marketing clause, the campaign was withdrawn.

rashmi.pratap@timesgroup.com