Saurav Ganguly joins the ranks of the moneyspinners (5 Sep 1996)

It was, perhaps, inevitable that advertisers would home in on the potential of Saurav Ganguly, following his phenomenal showing in England during the Indian tour there earlier this summer

05-Sep-1996

5 Sep 1996

Saurav Ganguly joins the ranks of the moneyspinners

Rediff on the Net

It was, perhaps, inevitable that advertisers would home in on the potential of Saurav Ganguly, following his phenomenal showing in England during the Indian tour there earlier this summer.

The boy is good-looking, has an outstanding record, and is billed as one of Indian cricket`s biggest contemporary stars - so no wonder that a clutch of companies have been seeking to tie him up for their campaigns.

First off the blocks was Reebok, which already has Mohammad Azharuddin and Anil Kumble on its payroll. Four Square, whose ads feature the likes of Vinod Kambli and Nayan Mongia, was also in the running, as was Action Shoes which boasts, among others, Kapil Dev. Saurav apparently found Four Square not lucrative enough while Action Shoes sought a five-year contract, and the star refused to be tied down for that length of time.

The race has finally been won by tyre giants MRF. The deal is on the verge of being signed, and will come into operation from the Sahara Cup contest in Canada, come September, between India and Pakistan.

In anticipation, Saurav Ganguly`s bat has already been sandpapered clean of all logos. It will be recalled that for over a year, Sachin Tendulkar`s bat was similarly unadorned. At the time, Sachin had signed a deal with MRF to sport that company`s logos on his bat, but the ICC objected on the grounds that MRF does not manufacture cricketing gear and, as per regulations, no bat can sport a logo other than that of sporting goods manufacturers.

Prolonged negotiations cleared that hurdle, and now Sachin`s bat sports the MRF logo very prominently. In the process, he has made things considerably easier for Saurav to do a similar deal - the Indian star does not have to go through the prolonged period of waiting that Sachin was earlier forced to endure, while official permission from the apex cricketing body was sought and obtained.

In the meantime, Saurav will appear in a series of ads promoting Tata`s brand of coffee. The one-year contract permits Tatas to use him both for TV and press ads, for an as yet unspecified period.

Within a month, Saurav will also promote Coke in the Eastern region of India. The multinational soft drinks firm is engaged in a running battle with arch-rival Pepsi, whose product is modelled by Sachin Tendulkar. However, in the eastern regions of India, Saurav`s mass appeal definitely rivals that of his captain, and Coke seems to be cashing in on that.

Interestingly, Saurav was on the verge of signing a deal whereby he would be represented by Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. The company was slated to manage his modelling assignments, for payment of a 15 per cent fee. However, the deal fell through recently when ABCL refused to pay him a minimum guarantee.

Source :: Rediffusion on the Net (https://www.redifindia.com/)