Pro Wrestling
League
Season 1 – 2015
After the Indian Premier League (IPL), Multi Screen Media’s Sony Max has decided to add another sports property to its name – the Pro Wrestling League (PWL). To raise awareness about this new initiative the channel to roll out a campaign called ‘Khel Fauladi’, to target the Hindi markets and bring the traditional ‘akhara’ culture to the global platform.
The campaign “Khel Fauladi” is aimed at men and women separately in an attempt to break common stereotypes. Featuring acclaimed players from the wrestling world like Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat, it highlights the sport’s raw nature while maintaining an international feel.
The client wanted the campaign to stay true to the sport which is based on skill, technique, strength and endurance. At the same time, we wanted to glorify the rawness, bravery and fierceness of the sport. The idea was to bring alive the strength the sport demands. Also from the audience’s perspectives, there is a huge admiration for combat sports which can be reflected from their interest in martial.
The multi-media campaign comprising of television, print, radio, and outdoor promotions targets the Hindi- speaking markets where wrestling enjoys relatively more adulation than other sports. The TVCs were aired on prime time slots on Sony Pal which has a strong connection in tier 2 and 3 markets, Sony Max and Sony Six.
It was 90 days events starting December 2015 with six city-based teams comprising of the world’s top 66 wrestlers. It was played in six cities across North, South, East and West Zones in India like Delhi, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Bangalore. Each team will have 9 players – 5 Indians, 4 foreign, 5 men and 4 women.
Photographed by
Vikas Dutt (vikasdutt.com)
