Sehwag scores on the ad pitch too

At first glance, Virender Sehwag is not your idea of a role model. Neither tall or good-looking in the conventional sense, Sehwag, unlike hi...

At first glance, Virender Sehwag is not your idea of a role model. Neither tall or good-looking in the conventional sense, Sehwag, unlike his more flamboyant contemporary Yuvraj Singh, was seen as the archetypal boy-next-door. Cute maybe, but not someone you’d want endorsing your products.

That, though, seems to have worked to his advantage — though his explosive form couldn’t have hurt — as endorsement offers are piling up on his plate. Indeed, since his quickfire century against South Africa in 2001, Sehwag has ensured that apart from dominating bowling attacks the world over, he is steadily also dominating India’s screens.

Consider this:

• Mayur Suitings has chosen him to model their line

• MNC Johnson & Johnson have signed on Sehwag to endorse Band-Aid

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• There is talk of him being used to target children via channels like Cartoon Network

From sharing credits with Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar in the ads for Cadbury’s Boost and Coke, Sehwag has, it seems, become a star in his own right. Industry sources point to the Team Samsung ad, where he plays the hero catching the ball, and a J&J spokesman said Sehwag was only the second cricketer after Tendulkar to endorse Band-Aid.

Next stop, says the cricketer’s manager Latika Khaneja, is Sehwag the brand. ‘‘Now that everyone knows who Virender Sehwag is, the time is right to launch Sehwag the brand name.’’

So does this mean that Sehwag will, like his idol Tendulkar, undergo a complete makeover? As viewers know only too well, today’s Tendulkar is a very different persona from the 17-year-old wunderkind who took on Wasim Akram. Italian suits, designer stubble and a cropped hairstyle have replaced curlilocks and babyface.

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With Sehwag, though, it seems to be a different story. By stepping out of Tendulkar’s shadow on the cricket field, Sehwag has ensured that it is the advertisers instead who have had to do a rethink.

So though Riju Jhunjunwala, director of Rajasthan Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd (which own Mayur Suitings) insists the forthcoming TV commercials will ‘‘show a completely different side to Sehwag,’’ image-wise the man will remain who he is.

‘‘We do not want an unreachable urban guy. Sehwag has a boy-next door appeal which says to people, ‘I’m wearing this suit because of my success, not because of the way I look or talk.’ That’s a very powerful message’’, she says.

This choice, as Jhunjunwala agrees, is a ‘‘conscious’’ shift away from qualities that other brand ambassadors like Shah Rukh Khan and Lisa Ray have espoused. Lisa Ray, in particular, was seen as catering to the urban English-speaking audience.

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Apart from Sehwag’s success, recent events have ensured the flamboyant partying cricketer has been shown the door. Vinod Kambli’s untimely exit, Ajay Jadeja’s match fixing controversy and Yuvraj Singh’s inability to hold a Test place and find consistent form, are all pointers in this direction. Indeed, Sachin apart, the hottest brand names today are those which have a non-flamboyant image: Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh.

And the youth core of the Indian team, as now famously known, hails from smalltown India — Jalandhar, Shrirampur, Allahabad — and is hip in a rugged sense.

Khaneja firmly believes that such an image is a blessing in disguise — though she insists it’s not just an image. ‘‘One time I remember, he stayed up till 12 in the night and he was so excited. ‘I’ve never stayed up till midnight before’ he kept saying. And what was he doing on New Year’s Eve? Watching Kaho Na Pyar Hai.’’