Mumbai: cult.sport, India’s destination for sports and fitness equipment, apparel, and supplements, has unveiled a new brand campaign, ‘The Maidan called India’, that aims to reshape the way people perceive sports and athleticism in their everyday lives. The brand envisions inspiring people to embrace their inner athletes and lead active and more fulfilling lives. With this campaign, cult.sport aims to bring about a transformative change in the way sports brands communicate in India.
In a country where sports participation is still in its infancy compared to its fan following, the brand recognizes the critical need to encourage people to start playing sports regardless of pursuing excellence. The campaign challenges the notion that sports are limited to professional athletes or specific activities and asserts that sport is, in fact, an integral part of our everyday lives.
The heart of the campaign lies in the belief that sport is all around us, present in the simplest of tasks in life. Whether it's running to catch a bus in Delhi, hurdling through the railway station in Mumbai to catch that last local train back home, or cycling to work through Bangalore's traffic, everyday people in India engage in a mad medley of planned and unplanned sports. cult.sport’s brand campaign captures these moments and celebrates the spirit of sportsmanship that lies within all individuals.
To underscore this message, the campaign features a catchy rap song titled "For the Maidaan called India," which accompanies the footsteps of people as beats to the song. This high-energy track serves as a trigger and reminder to the nation, urging them to step out and play any sport of their choice, regardless of their age, gender, or sporting ability.
"We believe that everyone is a sportsman, and our campaign showcases the myriad ways in which sports plays an integral role in our everyday lives. Our goal with this campaign is to encourage everyday athletes to take part in sport and let them know that we are here to support them in their daily sports on the Maidaan called India," said cult.sport business head Shamik Sharma.
Commenting on this campaign, Wunderman Thompson East & South India VP & managing partner Vijay Jacob said, "As a brand cult.sport celebrates the idea of Joy of Sport. That's what we loved most. To more than a billion of us, India is our motherland. And incidentally, for most of us, it is also our biggest maidaan. One, that’s filled with all kinds of hurdles and challenges big, small, odd, crazy, natural, manmade, that we take on every day, day in day out. A bustling sports arena that turns each one of us into an everyday sportsperson. That's the cultural insight we pegged on for this campaign."
Speaking about the film, Wunderman Thompson South Asia CCO Senthil Kumar said, “The brand cult.sport is all set to become the hub of India’s sporting culture. And our ambition is to make sporting culture popular culture with the launch campaign that brings alive the fact that our entire country is a fertile playground for sport. Made for the Maidaan called India. We wanted to highlight that sports are not limited to a specific group of people or professional athletes only. It's a celebration of the everyday athlete that resides within each one of us. Designed like a foot-tapping, pulsating playground this film captures India’s crazy chaos in the most endearing yet dynamic way. Everyday life is a sport here in the bustling ‘gullies, mohallas, mods and nukkads’ of this diverse country, it shows how ordinary people can transform into extraordinary sportsperson running, jumping, dodging, leaping and climbing their way as they go about their daily activities. Setting this film to ultimate sonic motion, a musical playground was created using a mad medley of various cult.sport shoes played live on different surfaces.”
Wunderman Thompson Kolkata VP & senior ECD Arjun Mukherjee further added, “A diverse country like India presents a competitive landscape at every corner, where even if you are not into sports, you have to be a sportsman. Our challenge for cult.sport was to bring to life this competitive spirit in a never-before-seen way that will give an adrenalin rush to the inner-athlete which resides in all of us.”
cult.sport aims to reach millions of Indians, igniting a passion for sports and encouraging them to prioritize physical activity as an essential part of their lifestyle. This revolutionary brand campaign marks a turning point in the sports industry, signaling a new era of communication between sports brands and the people of India. By shifting the narrative from an exclusive focus on professional athletes to an inclusive celebration of everyday athleticism, cult.sport hopes to create a cultural shift that encourages widespread participation in sports and paves the way for a healthier, more active nation.
