What do you think of all these commercial plugs the commentators are required to do in the IPL?

Question

Isn't this taking commercialisation too far? Why is it that every time a six is hit, the commentators must point out that it is a "DLF maximum" and a wicket/good play is a "Citi Moment of Success." The point was well brought out in a Cricinfo article where the author sarcastically mentioned that one day the batsman will play a "Toyota Front-Foot Drive" to an "Intel Faster One". Isn't this annoying? Why doesn't anyone complain about this to the broadcasters? Could it possibly work if some irate viewers wrote to DLF and Citibank and tell them that they are not going to use their services (buy their products) anymore?

Answer 1

This happens in every field of TV unfortunately, but as Ange says, the sponsors are paying for that time & so it must be. I know there's nothing more annoying when watching an exciting drama & right in the middle of a big scene they break for an Ad.

Answer 2

Sadly, money is what makes the world turn. The sponsors make a heavy investment, and they expect a return on that investment.

And the more it annoys people, the more it sticks in their minds. The more in your mind a product is, the more likely you are to buy it, choosing it overs its rivals because it is nearer the front of your mind.

Answer 3

This looks like a perfect question for me to rant about capitalism! Well, IPL IS about business. Every time I hear that they've invented yet another way to make money out of cricket, I think this time it might be too much. But apparently, it never is. We the viewers are incredibly patient. I didn't get to watch IPL that much, but if I did, this would highly irritate me( I mean, a city moment of success?? WTF!).

Signing a petition and sending it to the companies is most definitely not going to work. Because even if you manage to get some thousand signatures, surely there are millions and millions other who are still watching that match. You can't possibly expect them to give up that good chance of advertisement.

Not to worry though. The hype of IPL is not going to last forever, people will move on, or probably already have started moving on. When IPL won't be able to attract viewers anymore, Citi Bank will find another hype. As I said before, capitalism!

Answer 4

Well they have to mention the sponsors names to make them sound good...

They have to pay the electricity bill somehow...