Baap re baap! Mauka Mauka returns to up the game of one-upmanship

After two very convincing wins in the ICC World Cup 2019, India will be taking on New Zealand on Thursday, June 13. However, all eyes are on the India-Pakistan match that will be played on Sunday, June 16. As always, sentiments are sky high when it comes to any tie between India and Pakistan. 

Capitalising on the tremendous interest and excitement over the upcoming match, Star Sports has brought back its hugely popular campaign – Mauka Mauka, which plays on the cricketing rivalry between India and Pakistan. The latest Mauka Mauka campaign was unveiled during the India-Australia match on June 9. With the match falling on Father’s Day, the ad indirectly projects India as the ‘baap’ of Pakistan and mocks Pakistan’s record of failure against India in the ICC Cricket World Cup. 

The ad shows a Bangladeshi supporter approach our by now well-known Pakistani fan (essayed by actor Vikas Malhotra) and expressing the hope that maybe Pakistan will get lucky in its 7^th chance against India at the World Cup. The Pakistani fan recalls what “Abbu ne kaha tha” about not giving up and keep striving for success. At this point an Indian fan, dressed in the blue jersey, cheekily butts in, “Chup pagle! Maine aisa kab kaha?” with a mocking smile. It then dawns on both the Pakistani and Bangladeshi supporters about who the ‘baap’ is in this situation. 

Naturally, Pakistani supporters are not happy with this bit of trolling and have voiced their anger on Twitter: 

BC, itni 👇 Kuttay wali hone k baad bhi 😜 pic.twitter.com/ZliJP8VEGx

— آپے چوہدری 😎 (@ChaudhriUmar) June 9, 2019

Star Sports and all those liking this add really need to work on their humor. This add is terrible, unfunny and in a very poor taste.

— Naveed (@ndotyot) June 9, 2019

This is not creativity, this is badtameezi .. Yehi badtameezi inko lay bethi thi CT17 final main .. Ooper waalay ko gharoor pasand nahi .. Take it as a sport .. NAFRAT KA FAIDA KISI KO NAHI HOTA#CWC19

— Yasir Ali Hashmi (@YasirAliHashmi1) June 9, 2019

Other the other hand, Indian fans are quite happy that the campaign has returned after a brief hiatus. 

Reports state that the PCB has told its players to stick to cricket and turned down a request from Sarfaraz Ahmed and his team to celebrate India’s wickets ‘differently’ in retaliation to Kohli and Co. wearing army caps during an ODI against Australia in March #CWC19 #IndvPak

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) June 7, 2019

Skill x10
Passion x10
Commitment x10

Everything multiplies tenfold when it's #INDvPAK! Can't wait to watch the match on 16th June on @StarSportsIndia. #CricketKaCrown pic.twitter.com/hqY2bKwLld

— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) June 9, 2019

.@harbhajan_singh feels that India will be under more pressure to out-perform Pakistan when the two countries play each other on 16 June at the Old Trafford stadium. #Cwc19 #INDvPak

Read more: https://t.co/cktcHm0chQ pic.twitter.com/Yq6itWQRh0

— Firstpost (@firstpost) June 3, 2019

Read More: Star Sports records 114 mn reach for opening match - Eng vs SA

Industry Speak

Sandeep Goyal, Founder-Chairman, The Mogae Group, opines that ‘Mauka Mauka’ is an idea which, given a good creative treatment, has an infinite possibility and long life. He said, “As an idea, ‘Mauka Mauka’ is a very deep-rooted idea and has potential. I think people are getting used to it and they look forward to adopting such ideas. If you have a good creative thought, you can keep refreshing the idea over time and also make it stronger with every new exposure. However, you will have to keep the newness of the idea alive all the times.” 

Goyal further said, “The concept of ‘Mauka Mauka’ is linked to cricket and the creators keep refreshing it with every match and keep it topical. The fact that it is a bit irreverent, competitive, and a little out of the box, is what it makes it interesting. It is not your usual India vs Pakistan bashing, but the creative treatment of one-upmanship is clever and has made it more interesting.” 

On the other hand, Naresh Gupta, CSO & Managing Partner, Bang In The Middle, felt that ‘Mauka Mauka’ is done and dusted. While it worked earlier, it is getting stale now. Gupta added that the campaign was cheeky, done for fun and that’s why had the currency. However, getting it back this year hasn’t been fresh. “And bringing Bangladesh and reference to Father’s Day is not full of grace or sportsmanship. A lot of this could have been avoided. I also don’t like the winking emoji they have used in the commercial. India-Pakistan matches are high pressure, high intensity matches, but they don’t always need a jingoistic build-up. This year, the whole World Cup campaign is cheeky, but the ‘Mauka Mauka’ commercial is neither cheeky nor classy. It’s a bad joke told badly,” was Gupta’s candid opinion. 

Meanwhile, there are mixed reactions to weaving in Father’s Day into the campaign. 

Goyal remarked, “Playing this around Father’s Day and “Main Tumhara Baap Hoon” is a bit of a stretch and not quite in good taste, but then that’s what makes the ‘Mauka Mauka’ campaign. As I said earlier, it is a bit irreverent, so once you know that the old platform is irreverent, the play on the word ‘baap’ makes it interesting. It ties up with Father’s Day, which is a pure coincidence, and gives a clever twist to the whole occasion.” 

“Deploying the campaign ahead of Father’s Day adds to the fun,” felt Nisha Singhania, Co-Founder & Director, Infectious Advertising and Firki Productions. She added, “‘Mauka Mauka’ is a concept that has a lot of legs and can be interpreted in various ways. The campaign is absolutely hilarious – the concept, timing and actors are brilliant.”