No role model, yet: Piyush Pandey explains Cheteshwar Pujara’s absence from endorsement portfolio

He played a key role in India’s historic series win in Australia and has been nicknamed “unbreakable” by his captain Virat Kohli. So why isn’t the ad world sold on Cheteshwar Pujara? Advertising guru Piyush Pandey has some answers.

India are in a challenging situation in a Test match against a quality bowling attack. “There’s Pujara,” we say and feel assured. The commercials come on. They have Amitabh and Virat and Dhoni and Amitabh. And we wonder, “Where’s Pujara?” As Cheteshwar Pujara played a defining role in India’s historic first win on Australian soil recently, many followers painfully noted the absence of an endorsement portfolio he deserves.

To understand why, ETPanache contacted advertising guru Piyush Pandey. Pandey is the global chief creative officer (CCO), Ogilvy, and a former Ranji Trophy cricketer. This puts him at a unique vantage point — the intersection of sports and selling. As a cricket man, Pandey was thrilled with Pujara’s success. As an advertising man, he pointed to one stark reality of the cricketer’s career. He hasn’t played a lot of One-day and T20 cricket, which bring mass appeal and endorsements. Excerpts from the interview:

What impact did Pujara’s performance in Australia have on you as a cricket person and an advertising person?
I felt great as an Indian. As a cricket person, I am happy to see him succeed and excel in Australia. I did not bother to think as an advertising person.

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Despite being a standout performer, Pujara does not have a great endorsement portfolio. How do you explain this dichotomy?
Clearly, he is not an immediate role model for young India. Cricket is more defined today by one-day and T20 matches and that’s where personalities get built among Indian masses. Test cricket is relatively niche and hence he is more niche than mass.

Pujara is compared with Rahul Dravid as a batsman. Do you see parallels in their endorsement aspect too?
As batsmen, they have commonalities. But Dravid was active in one-day cricket and in much of his time, T20 didn’t exist. So, in endorsements, Dravid was more visible and salient as a brand than Pujara is today. There is no parallel here.

Did you work with the likes of Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman, all great players but not as sought after for endorsements, especially the latter two? Did you find it difficult to market them, or to get clients to sign them on?
Many years ago, we did some ads for Hutch with Dravid. The concept was created for features such as reliability, dependability, down to earth and a level of understatedness — all features that were associated with Dravid. We don’t consciously market any celebrity. At best, we suggest them based on brand fit for the task at hand.

Do you, at times suggest possible brand ambassadors to clients? Would you suggest Pujara?
As mentioned earlier, we do suggest, but it is based specifically on the task at hand and the brand fit. The challenge for Pujara would be instant recognition. He is not the most visible face in his own sport.

How challenging is it to convince Indian brands to sign on someone who is not Amitabh Bachchan or Virat Kohli?
Brands sign celebrities who bring their own equity, and recognition at some level is important. For film stars, acting is an additional advantage. For sports stars, as they are not natural actors, visibility/familiarity is critical. Hence there is space and role for celebrities beyond the big-league ones, and we see it everywhere around us. So, it comes down to fit with the audience that is targeted and the costs.

Is there honestly a place in the starry-eyed Indian market for Pujara to build a meaty endorsement portfolio?
I see it, though simply because of everything else I have said about how celebrities get selected. It’s not about starry eyed — it’s about familiarity and salience. Test cricket is relatively small and not as salient as other formats and he [Pujara] is dwarfed by others who have been able to cross over formats.

What attributes of Pujara’s would you highlight if you had to create a campaign around him?
Solidity, reliability, down to earth (against flair) and patience.