Yeh Dil Mange More !
I have been wondering, if there could be a correlation between the slump in the performance of Dhoni, Pathan and Sania to the amount of corporate endorsements they have accumulated after their meteoric rise in their respective sporting arena. Sania, the WTA newcomer of the year, hasn't gone past the 2nd round in any singles event this year and all she had achieved is to reach the 4th round of a grand slam and win couple of WTA tournaments within her home country amongst a depleted rank of players, besides the desultory wins over players ranked above her. Pathan, one who promised to be the pace spearhead and the much vaunted all-rounder of the men in blue has in the recent past almost mysteriously lost so much of his whiz and confidence. Kumble is not that far behind Pathan in pace, only that he generates it in few hops compared to Pathan’s long and gasping run-up. During the recent Caribbean tour, Dhoni's appearance was more predominant riding a bike in the TV commercials than his stay at the crease wielding his magic willow. True, it is not easy to be a Sania, Dhoni or a Pathan to a billion people watching every move of theirs and to stand up to their expectations and even worse to face critiques who question every single offbeat.
Celebrity endorsement is not new to the Indian masses. Right from the days of Kapil's 'Palmolive da jawab nahin' to Sunny Gavaskar's 'Take the world in your stride - Dinesh Suitings', it sure is a definite pay off for both the parties. No wonder in a buzzing economy with such a wide market audience like India, every corporate entity, especially in the consumer goods arena is fighting its way to romp-in these celebrities with their ability to add a glowing image to their product. The efficacy and institutional advantage of personality marketing is indubitable and what any consumer tend to look for is an instant association of a product with a well-known celebrity and this tends to improve the brand name of the product. The more famous you are, the more you transcend the sport you are in and this lasts a long time as it did with Kapil, Sunny or Sachin. This is the case even with the multi-million dollar endorsements that revolve around either a Tiger Woods, a Michael Jordan or a David Beckam; they had the personality to hold fans in a thrall even when they had an off day. But this can only be true when the marketing centers around a unique personality, like that of Tiger, Mike, Sachin or a Beckam - the list is very short. Gatorade's famous line of 'Wanna be like Mike' was such an instant success story across the US cutting across age groups. The same could be said about Sachin's 'Boost is the secret of my energy' to a major extent, for he stands out and brings-in a larger-than-life role to the product as an individual than just as a cricketer.
But, do we as a nation of pitiful sports achievements react too pronto to confer the status of gods on sports personalities. Put in perspective what a Sania, Dhoni or Pathan had achieved in their forging career to that of a Gilchrist or a McGrath or Pietersen. No question about their potential on what they can deliver and also the immense pressure they need to surmount to handle the unreasonable expectations of more than a billion people. But do we or the corporate world react too swiftly and over qualify individuals pushing them to celebrity status all in a hurry to achieve instant success. Expectations are treacherous - but expectations also get fuelled-in by the hype created by the media and the corporates that go after these athletes dangling the carrots of money and celebrity status - a bit too soon!
It has been good for cricket that we are not anymore just limited to a Mumbai or a Delhi to locate stars. Thanks to the pathans, dhonis and munaf patels, talents are emerging from every corner of this country, battling every odds and adversity in this ever so competitive gamut of getting your way into the playing eleven. The real strength of any individual lies in in how you manage fame and how you handle yourself in this sudden spike of notoriety. Look at the number of products carrying a dhoni or sania label these days. Right from a bath soap to motor bikes, from a carbonated drink to a four wheeler. How much of this quick money and instant famedom would these stars be able to manage in their young career without compromising their faculty?
Time would tell and it would only be a humble wish of any ardent sports fan to pray that these stars shine a little longer. A Sania, Dhoni or Pathan represent more than their respective sport - they reflect the verve and buoyancy of the youth, the new age India. I would love to see a Sania hold aloft a Wimbledon trophy at the same time driving away in a Getz or talk about the fancy couplets in her t-shirt. I would still like to say 'Yeh Dil Maange More' to Sachin for he has not led the nation of frenzy cricket lovers to a world cup victory yet.
I have been wondering, if there could be a correlation between the slump in the performance of Dhoni, Pathan and Sania to the amount of corporate endorsements they have accumulated after their meteoric rise in their respective sporting arena. Sania, the WTA newcomer of the year, hasn't gone past the 2nd round in any singles event this year and all she had achieved is to reach the 4th round of a grand slam and win couple of WTA tournaments within her home country amongst a depleted rank of players, besides the desultory wins over players ranked above her. Pathan, one who promised to be the pace spearhead and the much vaunted all-rounder of the men in blue has in the recent past almost mysteriously lost so much of his whiz and confidence. Kumble is not that far behind Pathan in pace, only that he generates it in few hops compared to Pathan’s long and gasping run-up. During the recent Caribbean tour, Dhoni's appearance was more predominant riding a bike in the TV commercials than his stay at the crease wielding his magic willow. True, it is not easy to be a Sania, Dhoni or a Pathan to a billion people watching every move of theirs and to stand up to their expectations and even worse to face critiques who question every single offbeat.
Celebrity endorsement is not new to the Indian masses. Right from the days of Kapil's 'Palmolive da jawab nahin' to Sunny Gavaskar's 'Take the world in your stride - Dinesh Suitings', it sure is a definite pay off for both the parties. No wonder in a buzzing economy with such a wide market audience like India, every corporate entity, especially in the consumer goods arena is fighting its way to romp-in these celebrities with their ability to add a glowing image to their product. The efficacy and institutional advantage of personality marketing is indubitable and what any consumer tend to look for is an instant association of a product with a well-known celebrity and this tends to improve the brand name of the product. The more famous you are, the more you transcend the sport you are in and this lasts a long time as it did with Kapil, Sunny or Sachin. This is the case even with the multi-million dollar endorsements that revolve around either a Tiger Woods, a Michael Jordan or a David Beckam; they had the personality to hold fans in a thrall even when they had an off day. But this can only be true when the marketing centers around a unique personality, like that of Tiger, Mike, Sachin or a Beckam - the list is very short. Gatorade's famous line of 'Wanna be like Mike' was such an instant success story across the US cutting across age groups. The same could be said about Sachin's 'Boost is the secret of my energy' to a major extent, for he stands out and brings-in a larger-than-life role to the product as an individual than just as a cricketer.
But, do we as a nation of pitiful sports achievements react too pronto to confer the status of gods on sports personalities. Put in perspective what a Sania, Dhoni or Pathan had achieved in their forging career to that of a Gilchrist or a McGrath or Pietersen. No question about their potential on what they can deliver and also the immense pressure they need to surmount to handle the unreasonable expectations of more than a billion people. But do we or the corporate world react too swiftly and over qualify individuals pushing them to celebrity status all in a hurry to achieve instant success. Expectations are treacherous - but expectations also get fuelled-in by the hype created by the media and the corporates that go after these athletes dangling the carrots of money and celebrity status - a bit too soon!
It has been good for cricket that we are not anymore just limited to a Mumbai or a Delhi to locate stars. Thanks to the pathans, dhonis and munaf patels, talents are emerging from every corner of this country, battling every odds and adversity in this ever so competitive gamut of getting your way into the playing eleven. The real strength of any individual lies in in how you manage fame and how you handle yourself in this sudden spike of notoriety. Look at the number of products carrying a dhoni or sania label these days. Right from a bath soap to motor bikes, from a carbonated drink to a four wheeler. How much of this quick money and instant famedom would these stars be able to manage in their young career without compromising their faculty?
Time would tell and it would only be a humble wish of any ardent sports fan to pray that these stars shine a little longer. A Sania, Dhoni or Pathan represent more than their respective sport - they reflect the verve and buoyancy of the youth, the new age India. I would love to see a Sania hold aloft a Wimbledon trophy at the same time driving away in a Getz or talk about the fancy couplets in her t-shirt. I would still like to say 'Yeh Dil Maange More' to Sachin for he has not led the nation of frenzy cricket lovers to a world cup victory yet.
3 comments:
You are a bit too harsh on Sania. She is still too young and has a very prospective career ahead. Dont just look for short term results.
Yes, it is a very much hyped-up world. Too much money flowing into the world of cricketers, while the other sports are dying. You are absolutely right in your views.
Atleast now ,flow of money for Ads has started diversifying to other sports like Tennis and Companies seem to prefer a smart sportstar ; smart in both talent and looks.What is wrong in signing a contract with some one who has good looks,talent and popularity, ?
Also, for India , which is used to performing not so well in any sport , save Cricket at times ; one of the main reasons attributed to is lack of encouragement in these sports, why not we consider this some kind of encouragement to India's first lady to crack in to to the World's top 40s in the field of Tennis?
If that was the real intent of the corporates is a different question altogether.
Indian women's Tennis had been so pathetic all these days until Sania's emergence which has given a slight ray of hope to all of us that one day , it could be an Indian who will lift those prestigious trophies that once Monica and Steffi kissed.
Perhaps , this is no achievement for Martinas and others and precisely the reason for her being not so sought after in the rest of the world.Nevertheless, she has broken the jinx to a ceratin extent in Indian women's Tennis
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