Brands break gender stereotype as PepsiCo, Hero bring in women cricketers

In November last year, a new teen sensation stormed the Indian cricket field. She was Shafali Verma, who became the youngest player of the game to beat Sachin Tendulkar’s record of scoring a half-century in an international match. She had beaten the odds to don the kit that was originally meant for her brother and also emerged a master player of the game that has a fanatical following in the country. 

Verma has just been signed on as the young face of Pepsi, a record of sorts for a woman cricketer to join the ranks of established players on the endorsement track within three months of hitting the international headlines. Apart from Verma, cricketers Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur have also signed on big brands such as CEAT, Hero, Bata’s sportswear brand Power and Amstrad India, among others.

Is the tide turning for women in the game? Not really said experts. “Women's cricket has certainly come of age. But not an age of equity as yet. The happy fact is that we are getting there. The sad fact: not fast enough. The current rush for women cricket stars on the brand endorsement wagon is due to the fact that the sport is attracting eyeballs. Brands love to share that eyeball rub-off effect”, said Harish Bijoor, founder, Harish Bijoor Consults.

Brands agree that the pay gap is huge. There is a sliver of hope though, with badminton star P V Sindhu making it to the Forbes list of highest paid female athletes from around the world in 2019. However, in the list of top 100 celebrity endorsers in the country, also for 2019, Sindhu at Rank 63, earned Rs 21.05 crore while Virat Kohli at the top of the league earned Rs 252 crore.

Still brands are betting on women athletes more than they were earlier because viewership patterns are changing. According to BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council India), the women's T20 World Cup, for instance, was the most-watched programme in the sports genre in February-March 2020, during the weeks that it was played in Australia. Brands signing up the women’s cricket team and its players say that while viewership numbers signal change, the most important factor is the attitude and the ‘winnability’ quotient that women’s cricket has shown of late.

The Indian women’s cricket team won all its league matches at the T20 World Cup, sailing into the finals, where it lost to Australia. Their spirit was lauded though by one and all.

Tarun Bhagat, director, marketing, hydration and cola, PepsiCo India said whether male or female sportspeople, Pepsi has always looked at performance, professionalism and athleticism. “Having said that, cricket has always been considered a gentleman’s game and today, women cricketers are breaking that stereotype. For example, the story of Shafali Verma is very inspiring and showcases her grit and determination to be successful against all odds” he said.

For the athletes in the game, endorsements make for a sizeable part of their career graph today and hence, it is important to shine on both fields. "It is important for me to associate with a brand that believes in women, and I simply love the Pepsi Swagstar campaign", said the 16-year old Verma.

Tyre major CEAT that has traditionally invested across various cricketing properties signed up Harmanpreet Kaur, the all-rounder in the women’s team and an Arjuna awardee (2017) around three years ago. “Her endorsing our brand on and off the field helps us reach young audiences”, said Amit Tolani, vice president, marketing, CEAT.

Brands are turning to women cricketers also as part of a larger shift in the advertising narrative. Women have found a place in the story that brands want to tell and hence the trend of acquiring them as endorsers is visible across sports and other fields too.

According to the recently-released ‘Sporting Nation in the Making’, a report by ESP Properties, a GroupM company, Sindhu is the leading non-cricketing athlete in terms of brand endorsements (2019). Sindhu added four brands to her portfolio, the most notable one among them was her tie-up with VISA as she is the first Indian athlete to endorse the financial services brand. Bhagat says that in the last few years, there has been a shift across all sports be it wrestling, boxing, tennis, football or cricket, with women athletes finally getting their due.