Champs and the card
Roshmila Bhattacharya, Hindustan Times
Two days before IPL Season 5 flagged off, Matrix launched a new TV commercial in association with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The ad featured Shah Rukh Khan with all-rounders Brett Lee, Brendon McCullum and Yusuf Pathan making a case for the Matrix forex card and Juhi Chawla, the judge,
finally ruling in its favour. “Shah Rukh was confident that this season his knights would ride away with the trophy,” says Kabir Sadanand, director, Frog Unlimited. “KKR doesn’t need a mentor, they have one in their franchise owner.”
He’s also all praise for Juhi, who despite the last-minute call, went out of her way to make the ad happen. The first of the commercials in Matrix’s ‘New Dawn, New Knights’ series, the ad recreated the magic of the SRK-Juhi jodi (pair) and was aired as a sequel to an earlier ad. It continued with an abbreviated version that promised to make international travel easier.
Breaking the shackles of cash and crossing borders, Kabir then filmed another ad for Matrix Sim card featuring Brett, Yusuf and all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, two days before KKR defeated Delhi Daredevils in an all-important match. “Shakib is really big in Bangladesh and we thought the product could benefit from him and the KKR connect,” he reasons.
Now that KKR has finally lived up to its promise, Kabir is planning a Champions Edition campaign: “Since many of the overseas players have gone back, we’ll take snippets from all the Matrix ads we’ve shot featuring KKR and maybe get SRK to anchor it, he’s our Badshah after all.”
Yusuf pathan
You get what you see, there’s nothing fake about this giant all-rounder, whose right arm off breaks are as lethal as his towering sixes. He’s not an actor or a party person but a cricketer who is always aiming to perform.
Shakib al Hasan
The Bangladeshi batsman-cum-left arm orthodox bowler was like a wide-eyed child. I think Shakib has done a Coke ad before but this campaign was his big break and he wouldn’t leave the sets even for a minute to rest. He was too awed by the elaborate camera set-up.
Brett Lee
The Aussie all-rounder is a born athelete and actor. He will come to a shoot with his guitar and strum it between shots or play pranks on his co-stars. Brimming with energy, the speedster is fun, both on field and off it too!
Brendon McCullum
This New Zealand batsman-wicket-keeper and bowler keeps reminding me that just because he has been rubbing shoulders with Shah Rukh Khan doesn’t mean he is an actor too. Initially Brendon is very reserved but once he opens up he cracks great jokes!
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entert...e1-862811.aspx