Scarecrow M&C Saatchi and Sony Sports tell viewers to stay awake for the UEFA Champions League
Sony Pictures Sports Network has been bringing the most prestigious football club competition in the world, the UEFA Champions League to Indian audiences September 17 onwards.
The matches featuring the best football players in premier clubs from top European leagues, will be telecast on Sony Ten 2 channels.
SPSN also recently launched its campaign, conceptualised by Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, for the mega tournament, #SonaManaHai, which captures the sentiments of all Indian football fans and preps them for the upcoming season.
The #SonaManaHai campaign film opens with Raj Kumar Rastogi (essayed by internet star Gopal Dutt) walking into the office and asking a colleague about the results of the previous night’s UEFA Champion’s League match. The colleague is amazed that Rastogi didn’t watch the match as he went to bed early. The film showcases different characters of society, including a canteen boy and railway announcer amongst others expressing their shock and disappointment on Rastogi sleeping through the matches. Rastogi wakes up in a sweat realizing this was a dream and realizes ‘Sona Mana Hai’ when the world’s biggest football club tournament is on!
To engage viewers, SPSN will also have a host of panelists for their live studio show who will provide extensive pre, mid and post-match analyses for every match day. The guest panelists include former football players and now renowned football pundits Ashely Westwood, Mark Seagraves and Terry Phelan for the first three match days.
Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited, said, “Sony Pictures Sports Network are the flag bearers for UEFA Champions League, the best football club tournament in the world, in India. UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of glory for both the clubs as well as the players and the passionate fans. Our audience can look forward to a more exciting viewing experience through a series of programming initiatives this season including a live studio show with celebrated ex-football players providing expert analysis on our channels. It is #SonaManaHai for all our viewers September 17 onwards.”
Neville Bastawalla, Head, Marketing & On-Air Promotions, Sports Channels, Sony Pictures Networks India, added, “#SonaManaHai urges viewers to stay awake and not miss out on all the exciting action from the best football players and teams in UEFA Champions League. Our campaign speaks to two broad sets of audience, the football fans who are unable to stay awake to watch the matches and fringe viewers who are not very familiar with UEFA Champions League however have a fear of missing out on rewarding experiences. Through this insight, we have created a first of its kind clutter breaking campaign to increase the appeal and viewership of the tournament. In order to reach out to a wider audience across multiple markets, the on-air film, #SonaManaHai has been rolled out in four languages – English, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali.”
Raghu Bhat, Founder, Director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, added, “When Messi and Salah are scoring, football fans are snoring! UEFA Champion’s League is the greatest and the most discussed football event on earth but matches happen late night. We want this campaign to be the caffeine shot that makes a football fan stay up and watch it live on Sony Pictures Sports Network instead of on YouTube the morning after.”