Unacademy Hijacks IPL Commentary Box

Unacademy, has unveiled its latest marketing campaign for IPL 2021 in the form of a hijack of the commentary box. The TVCs, which were in the form of a casual commentary box banter, were released during KKR’s match with Mumbai Indians on April 13.

The ads, having a match-like setting, featured candid conversations between commentators Harsha Bhogle-Sunil Gavaskar and Aakash Chopra-Virendra Sehwag. The TVCs, which were in the form of 15-second short clips, appeared at the end of ad breaks and started with footage from the match, giving the audience the impression that the match had resumed, when however, the scene cuts to the commentators in the commentary box discussing the match with subtle references to Unacademy and ends with a single shot of the Unacademy banner on the ground.

In keeping with the precedent, the Indian Premier League has been witnessing a series of innovative brand campaigns but Unacademy decided to buck the popular trend and introduce a campaign that integrated the brand with the tournament without a conventional advertisement. The ad campaign was simultaneously launched on TV and Hotstar during the match telecast.

Within hours after its release, the TVCs evoked strong reactions on social media, sparking fan banters on twitter. Viewers were pleasantly amused to hear their favourite commentators engage in a fun exchange on Unacademy during an IPL match and began questioning whether this was an advertisement or part of the match.

Unacademy has been roped in as the official partner for the Indian Premier League for three seasons. During its first year of association last year, Unacademy released a film titled ‘Cracking the Game’, which won several awards and received a stellar response last November.