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Purvita Chatterjee

Sachin stars in a new Airtel ad which aims to show his `human' side, and because he has much in common with the brand, says the company.

TAKING the `Express Yourself' theme forward to build the Airtel brand, the latest commercial shows Sachin Tendulkar playing football with street children, displaying spontaneity in his actions.

According to Santosh Sood, Chief Operating Officer, Rediffusion DY&R, "Express Yourself is the brand concept of Airtel. It exhorts us to unlock our feelings and give expression to them. Often, expression is presented as the spoken word. The term `expression' was reinterpreted to go beyond words. Spontaneity in expression was inferred as spontaneity in all forms of expression, feelings included. This was the creative opportunity that was used to craft the TV commercial."

In the commercial, instead of projecting Sachin as a successful cricketer, he is shown as an ordinary person who watches street kids playing cricket and then gets involved in the game himself after calling up some friends to join the game.

"Sachin is known as a great cricketer. Viewers have not had much occasion to interact with him as he is, off the field. The context of Sachin and cricket is well-established and portrayed often. This was the second opportunity that was realised, to present him as an individual - human and with feelings that are true to any of us. His warmth, spontaneity and sheer energy comes to the fore and is accentuated by the lyrics," added Sood.

Sachin Tendulkar has been signed for the Airtel brand for a period of three years. The company claims the reason behind choosing Sachin was based on similarities between between Sachin's personality and what the Airtel brand stood for.

Explains Gurinder Sandhu, Head (Brand & Media), Bharti Televentures, "Airtel and Sachin share the same brand values. Both are about being reliable, trustworthy and leaders in their respective fields."

The commercial ends with the baseline, `With Airtel you are with friends. Anytime and Anywhere.' Sachin is expected to feature in more of Airtel's commercials, which also have Shah Rukh and Kareena Kapoor featuring in them. "We do not plan to add on more celebrities to this list," says Sandhu.

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