ADVERTISING: Dhoni and his team might be the current hot favourites, but marketers still prefer to put their money on the Big Trio, Sachin-Rahul-Sourav.They have been called the Holy Trinity, the Terrific Trio, Big Three and a whole lot of other fancy names. There was a time when a Very Very Special player (as the Aussies call him) briefly staked claim and then they became the "Fab Four". But in the cricketing, as well as in the marketing world, it's always Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly who have topped the charts. But India's unexpected win at the Twenty20 World Cup has given birth to a pantheon of new stars. Some existing, like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who will now, perhaps, be put on a higher pedestal; and some new, like Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir, whom marketers will be looking to cash in on. The Big Three weren't part of the historic win, and a lot of pundits believe their careers are in the twilight zone. And not just in cricketing terms. Ganguly, who has now staged a comeback, won't be affected too much. "Most of the contracts these guys have are relatively short term and people signing them on know that there are few years left in them," says Latika Khaneja, director, Collage Sports Management. However, Khaneja doesn't think that the rise of new stars will have any dramatic effect on the endorsements of the Big Three. Amidst all the euphoria of the World Cup win, she says, only three people have come out gainers. Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Khan and R P Singh. "Yuvraj and Dhoni already had a host of deals and their market value will increase, but not their endorsement count," says Roland Landers, business head at PDM sports.Dhoni had close to 15 endorsements till last count. He commands Rs 10-12 crore annually, just a little less than Dravid and Tendulkar, who are valued at Rs 15 crore and Rs 20 crore respectively. Yuvraj, too, has brands like Pepsi, Hero Honda and Parachute in his kitty and charges Rs 75 lakh-Rs 1 crore."If people say that all members of the winning team will be the new faces of brands, then they are exaggerating," says Khaneja. Arjun Rao, director, Havas Sports, agrees with this view. "I hope marketers are cautious this time around and don't jump on the bandwagon, as we know public memories are short." But will a brand jump from Tendulkar to Dhoni? "No," says Rao. "That won't happen on the basis of this win, at least." Khaneja concurs. "Sachin is Sachin, he is an icon. And it's the same with Dravid and Ganguly "" they are legends in their own right." So a few might jump the ship, but brands in it for the long-term won't. "Are you sure that people will still sing praises for the likes of R P Singh, if they have two bad series?" Rao asks. Landers, however, feels that the next 28 days in the cricketing calendar, which includes 12 one-day internationals against Australia and Pakistan, and three tests against the latter, will throw up a clearer picture. "If these young lads then upstage the seniors on field, it might change the off-field equation as well."
