Aman Ki Asha celebrates the Indo-Pak cricket bond

Aman Ki Asha, the Indo-Pak peace initiative by The Times of India and The Jang Group (of Pakistan), has launched a new campaign to coincide with the ongoing cricket series between the two countries.

Created by Taproot India, two films centered on the cricketing rivalry between the two countries are on air, and a third will be released soon. The underlying thought is that when it comes to cricket, we (India-Pak) are thorough competitors, but that doesn't make us enemies.

The first TVC starts with two girls - one Indian and one Pakistani - debating over who wooed whom in the Sania Mirza-Shoaib Malik relationship. The young woman from India retorts when the other says Sania made the first move, and accuses Shoaib of having charmed her with his handsome looks. The argument continues, involving Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh too. Even as the debate picks up steam, one of the girls notices that the other’s kajal (eye liner) is spreading, and helps her fix it. A moment of amity follows. A super that reads 'Competitors, not enemies' appears.

Watch the second TVC here (Story continues below)

In this film, an Indian and a Pakistani man are seen in an eating joint watching news of Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement. In no time, they start arguing over the impact of Tendulkar’s retirement on the two teams. Just then, the Pakistani man gets a call from his mother, and he requests the Indian to take care of his passport and steps out to talk. The Indian takes responsibility of his belongings, and his seat, in his absence.

Agnello Dias, chief creative officer and co-founder, Taproot India, said, "Aman ki Asha, like many of the other initiatives we do for TOI, is an ongoing effort at moving the needle on relations between the common people of the two countries. A cricket series was another great opportunity for the soul of the campaign to underline the fact that though we are two proud and passionate nationalities, deep within we are still human at heart."

The media plan for the two week-long campaign has been devised by The Times of India's media agency Lodestar UM.

Nandini Dias, chief operating officer, Lodestar UM, said, "The campaign will have a nationwide reach through Hindi GECs, news channels, regional channels, movie channels (Hindi and English) and youth genre channels like MTV and 9XM. These will cover the entire gamut of our target - the common man.”

The plan includes properties like Sur Kshetra, Nach Baliye and award functions, and will also be seen in cinemas in the metros and heard on a few radio stations.

The campaign is also catching eyeballs on Aman Ki Asha’s Facebook page.

Unplugged moment

The two films were shot in New Delhi and got over in just a day. Taproot's Dias recollected how amusing it was to see the actors get into the skin of their characters when the topics at the heart of the plot were - India, Pakistan and cricket.

Credits:

Client: Bennett Coleman, and Company Limited

Marketing: Rahul Kansal, Sandeep Singh Arora

Agency: Taproot India

Executive creative directors: Santosh Padhi, Agnello Dias

Copy, art: Agnello Dias

Production house: Code Red Films

Director: Gajraj Rao

Producer: Subrat

Sound: Darshan, Famous

Cinematographer: Hari Singh

Media agency: Lodestar UM