Seagram's Royal Stag gives fans a chance to feature alongside Indian Cricketers in ad

Ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Seagram’s Royal Stag Packaged Drinking Water has come up with an innovative and immersive AI-led fan experience titled, ‘A Billion Films For A Billion Fans’ which allows cricket enthusiasts to feature alongside Indian Cricket Team Captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Surya Kumar Yadav in a personalised ad.

Fueling the larger-than-life emotions associated with cricket, the brand aims to ignite a whole new generation of young cricket fans, ‘The Generation Large’, many of whom are witnessing their first World Cup in India as adults via an AI-integrated campaign that gives each fan an opportunity to become part of a personalised film featuring the cricketers.

Commenting on the vision behind ‘A Billion Films For A Billion Fans’, Kartik Mohindra, Chief Marketing Officer, Pernod Ricard India, said, “Cricket is a passion for the entire 1.4 billion people in the country whose hearts beat for cricket and for India and with the upcoming Cricket World Cup, the 50-over format in India, it actually doesn't get bigger than this.”

He then went on to highlight that the brand, Seagram’s Royal Stag has been associated with cricket for the better part of the biggest inflection points in the brand’s activation calendar for the past 25 years and therefore, if anything, the team took it upon themselves to make the brand’s cricketing journey even larger, stemming from the philosophy of ‘Live It Large’.

“The brand’s largeness in the country started in 2000 with a very cricket-centric brand strategy that worked wonderfully for us and still continues to do well. Over the years, we’ve been very fortunate to have had the biggest names of cricket, both international and Indians to support the brand. Additionally, we also sponsor cricket tournaments in many locations of the world and are proud partners with ICC for their global events including the World Cup and it remains an extremely integral part of the brand's journey and stride in the country,” he added.

The AI-led campaign, in his views, is aimed at providing every fan with an opportunity to not just live their dream merely but also live large, which is why the whole fan experience has been curated keeping today’s youth, aka, the digital natives, in mind by offering them a simplified user journey.

A selfie and a voice sample coupled with the power of regenerative AI create the ultimate fan experience. With these tools, the campaign uses the power of generative AI technology and machine learning, to create a platform that enables each fan to feature as part of the Royal Stag Live It Large star cast and with the aid of this innovation, each fan can create a personalised edit of the film.

Face-mirroring algorithms precisely map the unique facial features of fans onto the characters in the main film. In addition, with just a brief voice sample it also has the capability of emulating the tone, pitch, and nuances of the fan's voice.

In essence, this campaign will transform the consumer journey into an extraordinary yet personal experience and give the fans a chance to go beyond boundaries and get close to their favourite players and the World Cup trophy.

Watch the campaign here:

Pernod Ricard’s Mohindra also pointed out that while on the one hand, the brand celebrates cricket’s heritage, on the other, the brand has embraced cutting-edge technology to broaden brand engagement and inspire cricket fans to immerse themselves in their favourite sport like never before.

He added, “Because the young Indians, ‘The Generation Large’ as we call them, want to make a name for themselves and have their own ways of success rather than simply following the beaten path, they do know that their rightful place is equal or certainly nothing less than their global counterparts. They don't only want to be at the receiving end of brand communications, but want to be a part of it, which is why the genesis of the regenerative AI campaign is an opportunity for our consumers to become even more integral and integrated to our communication.”

The campaign, according to Mohindra, will be amplified through a high-decibel 360-degree plan spread across digital, print, radio and OOH to offer an immersive, unforgettable experience.

Strengthening its long-standing association with cricket at the global level, the AI-led fan experience has been conceptualised by the brand in association with Creative agency partners FCB India, Digital Agency partners Dentsu India, Technology Partner Artizens Events, and Experiential solutions and Media partners Wavemaker.

Abhinav Kaushik, President, FCB India, also said, “In an age where experience is the only currency amongst the digital natives, how can a cultural icon like Royal Stag do something that epitomizes 'large' during the biggest sporting spectacle of the year. This was the starting point of the brief, and we are excited that this idea truly allows every cricket fan to create their own unique 'Live it Large' experience. I am confident that this power of creativity fuelled by technology, will not only deliver brand engagement but enhance the love for the brand multifold.”

As per Ajay Gupte, CEO- South Asia, Wavemaker, the Cricket World Cup is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated sports properties and this World Cup 2023 is touted to be the greatest ever.

“Through this collaboration, we aim to extend brand synergies and offer a unique, memorable, and thrilling ‘Live it Large’ experience to each and every cricket fan,” he said.

Sharing his views on the campaign, Amit Wadhwa, CEO, Dentsu Creative India, stated “This campaign provided us a big platform where we could showcase how modern creativity can be infused into the Indian Cricket fandom. It's a great example of how technology can be used to enhance and enrich our connection to sports and entertainment. This multi-faceted campaign has the potential to inspire fans to become more deeply involved in their favourite sport, creating memorable moments and experiences that will stay with them for a long time.”

Aditya Joshi, Founding Partner, Artizens Events & Experiential Solutions, also said “As technology partners to this innovative campaign, we are trying to harness the connection with the Generation Large who crave social currency and vicarious thrills by bringing together AI and Machine learning and creating a never seen before immersive experience.”

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