Controversy and cricket: The new drama off the field

Where cricket is concerned, controversy always comes along as the escort. The Indian Premier League has started with a boom on the field. But there are some controversies doing the rounds off the field, the latest being the promotional video of IPL.

IPL's Karmayudh video has been created by Ogilvy & Mather's Prasoon Pandey. However, it is said to be a copy of an ad telecast by Fox Sports five years ago. Prasoon Pandey, in conversation with the Economic Times, India, acknowledged the similarity but is of the notion that the two ads are different in soul and the similarity is only in terms of the picture treatment.

The Fox Sports ad has been posted on YouTube by someone called ripoffexpose who seems to have come on YouTube for the sole purpose of uploading this video and letting people know about the coincidence.

I looked for any statement by Fox Sports on this but did not find any. The controversy seems to have arisen from the post by ripoffexpose. One niharsaqib has posted a response from Prasoon Pandey. I don't know if it is him, but it does sound like him. Here's the response:

I am the one who directed the IPL Karamayudh Commercial and my name is Prasoon Pandey.

The use of the splash in the baseball commercial, I must confess is uncomfortably close to the one in the IPL Ad. When we cut the actual footage together and gave it to my animators to paint on top, they having painted on top also put a splash on a shot and showed it to me. I loved it and I am the one who asked them to go ahead with it.

But I hadn't even seen this baseball commercial till you put it on You tube, and have just confirmed with my animator E. Suresh of Famous Studios, neither had he.

At the same point of time, the splash can neither be anybody's property nor is it the idea of the IPL commercial. IPL'S idea is in the Veer Ras audio track. The splash is only a visual punctuation in the larger imagery.

This decent part of my reply is for all you guys who are genuinely worried about where Indian advertising is headed.

Now for the nameless coward who wrote the indecent limericks- Son, if you put your creativity to better use, one day you could make your mum proud by being able to put a name to your work.

Prasoon Pandey
Corcoise Films

I am waiting for the debate to spice up!