[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by souravc

And so the media plants start .. do our cricket legends really need to keep the money meter ticking for so long ?
When Sachin bought a second hand BMW

Once you read the entire report, and see the cleverly inserted taglines, it just ends up spoiling the brand name to me. I mean the 3 series ad itself was amazing and id havr bought it straight away. BMW ads have always encouraged me towards the brand more than Mercs coffee time, blufficiency and VWs 10 autorickshaws.

Im not going to even judge how much of that story in the media is true or false. Frankly my interest in BMW has partially diminished but not enough as to never look at that brand. I only wish BMW didnt stoop down to the levels of non luxury brands being endorsed by celebrities.

Many youngsters (<=30yrs of age) may think, wow Sachin owned a Bmw 2nd hand, wow great respect for him, he even lets his driver sit at the back. Such a down to earth man, truly he is God.

All i can say is Cheers!!

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by R2D2

I wish these cricketers would focus on playing good cricket instead of endorsing brands. It will help by not embarassing the country with their string of losses in ODIs or tests. I stopped watching cricket a long time ago after crass commercialisation raised its head - of which the IPL is the worst example.

PS - Will it help sell a BMW? To some probably. But most people who buy premium cars are already aware of what the brand offers them.

What is wrong with them endorsing a brand and making more money ? Would you refuse that and say that you are happy with your salary ?

Originally Posted by vinair

Guess brand Sachin can easily stomach pens, malted drinks, coke etc. not a car company as big and famous as BMW!!

Guess what? Sachin is respected and revered more outside India than here, in spite of the madness fans associate with him. Only a handful of critics in India (newly cropped up) think like you. Would you rather think that those 3 footballers who came here for a pepsi ad are also poor slobs just running around to make some money out of cola ads ?

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

And I don't like him either! He has lost his dignity in my eyes owing to greed and avarice. Silly BMW, they should have got a Ranbir Kapoor to work with them or Deepika Padukone or Nargis Fakhri or Farhan Akhtar or someone of that nature. Nice stylish good looking people. Sachin is an old dog and does not have the same appeal any more.
If Audi has Katrina then Bee Em could have also got someone from Bolly.
And I like Audi and I also like Katrina so I guess Im biased!

For what it is worth I will one day buy an Audi but NOT a Bee Em!

Why get personal and say that you do not like him ? So be it, do not buy a bimmer, next dhoni will endorse Audi and Kohli will endorse MB and maybe Raina will endorse the Skoda. What will you do then ? Sell your car and buy a Maruti ? Wait, even Maruti might be endorsed by bhajji even late after his retirement. And all the other names you suggested maybe endorsing the Indica which might have to be your next car if this trend continues.

You are the kind of typical customer that the brand ambassadors target. In this context, you are saying you will not buy a bimmer because you do not like sachin and you also say you will buy the Audi because you like Katrina.

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

Such a down to earth man, truly he is God.

What ??

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

What is wrong with them endorsing a brand and making more money ? Would you refuse that and say that you are happy with your salary?

There's absolutely nothing wrong in endorsing a brand.

It is just that I, like many people, feel that he (and other cricketers for that matter) could use his skills in upping the game and helping us win instead of a delivering a World Cup once in 30 years, followed by a quick succession of embarassments. And I am not even talking about things like allegations of match fixing, bribes etc that have tarnished the game. I grew up in an era where I saw greats like Sunil Gavaskar, G Vishwanath, Bishen Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev and so many others play well and kept the game clean - and without the in-your-face commercialism that is so common today.

These cricketers will endorse anything from a pin to a plane! A cricket team captain endorsing an engine oil with a cheesy smile on his face! Now how cool is that!

BTW, BMW or for that matter any well known luxury car marque, will continue selling (or not selling) regardless of who endorses the brand. You may recall the (in)famous 'Sachin Tendulkar' special Fiat Palio in the early 2000s, in the awful yellow colour and his signature on the hood (YUCKS!)That didn't help Fiat from falling into a rut within a year or two. Car marques like BMW are world famous in their own right and have a rich history of performance and world class automotive engineering built in. That's what will sell the car to a large majority of potential buyers- not Sachin's advert.

As for whether I will accept a hypothetical 'endorsement' to supplement my salary - the answer is a clear NO..I am bound by the terms of my employment not to engage in any form of direct or indirect employment or professional services with any organisation or even self-employment. Contravening these company policies can result in dismissal from service.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

What ??

Perhaps youve misconstrued my point. I meant that would be the opinion of the common man who can be easily eye washed and brainwashed by some story being released into the media.

Cheers!!

Food for thought: why are cricketers only raking in the moolah when the national game is hockey?

[microaubin]

Correct me if I am wrong but after reading all the above posts and little googling nowhere could I find any reports confirmed by BMW in their website or on their official facebook page as having appointed Sachin Tendulkar brand ambassador for BMW.

From the official BMW India Facebook page I Quote "The sixth generation of the world’s most successful premium sedan was unveiled by Mr. Sachin Tendulkar, the legendary sportsman, at an exclusive launch event." Unquote...So isn't it possible they are trying to relate the successful sporty legendary car to a successful legendary sportsman??

Come to think of it who else in the sports world can match his legendary exploits and stature? MS Dhoni ??? Possible but he is very well known for his craze for bikes!! All the others would be a joke which is exactly why BMW didnt go for filmstars as it would have been an even more scarier joke.

Maybe they have just got him to unveil the car and probably hand over the keys to the owners of the first set of customers. Why don't we wait until the print ads floods the newspapers before destroying S10 with our googlies!!

In many posts above people seem to think whenever Sachin scores centuries India loses...Imagine if Sachin hadn't scored what would have been the score then....simple just minus a century from the score. However this is just a misconception...To dispel this please visit

How often does India win when Sachin scores a century?

(Note:This is something I just took from google, cannot vouch for facts & figures)

Also found people rubbishing Tag Heuer.. its no Patek Philippe, Breguet, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Ulysse-Nardin, Cartier or for that matter Rolex /Omega. Its an International brand which slots in between Tissot and Rado / Omega.

Also Tag Heuer has had brand ambassadors like Steve McQueen, Alain Prost, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton,Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova, Leonardo Di Caprio, Cameron Diaz etc so I would probably think SRK would surely be in esteemed company!!


Also is there any rule anywhere that if you endorse a particular brand you should be using only that brand unless specified in a contract? As much as i love BMW and hope to buy one in the next 5 years, if I had as much money as Sachin I would have knocked myself out with a couple of Aston Martins, Bugatti's, Pagani's, Ascari and Koenigsegg Agera's!!


Anyway BMW has got 4 pages of posts on the first day itself just by bringing Sachin in so guess thats the power of advertising. So let's be positive....JOY is still here....JOY is going nowhere. Don't worry!!

[quickdraw]

Personally, BMW is going in the wrong direction by appointing a brand ambassador, that to Sachin Tendulkar. I think they should use that money for other better marketing efforts.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Wasn't there a guy with same name who used to play cricket for India?

Very well said
-and the same guy has toothbrushes and what not being sold in his name by Big Bazaar with a brand they call "Sach". Seems like his name can sell anything ranging from toothbrushes to BMW's, Wow, now that's an amazing range of products to endorse!

I really can't understand why BMW needed Sachin or any other celebrity as brand ambassador instead of simply focussing on what is going wrong in their strategy causing them to lose out to Audi on the sales front - I don't think marketing/advertising alone was the solution for that

[vb-saan]

I am not big fan of cricket – the interest died down partially because of the relocation, and also due to the arrival of venom-spitting new breed of cricketers. But actually quite amazed with astonishing percentage of Sachin-haters (from the responses so far). Interesting discussions nevertheless. We always find harmony in contradictions and disagreements, don’t we?

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Sachin is respected and revered more outside India than here, in spite of the madness fans associate with him.

Very true. I regularly interact with multiple nationalities, and have always been amazed with the fact that even people from those countries with zero connection with cricket know who Sachin Tendulkar is. And the respect they have is quite genuine. From the current crop of international sports personalities, the only other person I can think of (who has garnered this much visibility and respect ) is Roger Federer.

Coming to the brand ambassador thing. I don’t think this is going to make much impact in the fortunes/sales of BMW 3 in India. What common man thinks about this does not really matter - they surely cannot afford a 3. But this will surely add to the positive vibe about the BMW brand internationally. Atleast this news will add up to the popularity of the brand in other cricket loving nations like Australia or South Africa (probably more than what it does in India).

On a side note, couple of years back golfer Shiv Kapur was made the brand ambassador for the 6-series, which went almost unnoticed.

[microaubin]

Originally Posted by vb-san

From the current crop of international sports personalities, the only other person I can think of (who has garnered this much visibility and respect ) is Roger Federer.

True that. Both Sachin Tendulkar and Roger Federer are not just superstars but legends or demi-gods in the sports they play. Statistics will vouch for their legendary status in the years to come.

Part of this cult status also goes to these legends for the dignity which they have conducted themselves on and off the field/ court. ( case being golfing superstar Tiger Woods fall from grace due to the scandal he was involved in.)

[moralfibre]

Here's a short video featuring Sachin Tendulkar and the BMW F30 3-series

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlDPsOc4M2E

[shankar.balan]

If you noted my post a few posts ago, you would see that I am well aware that there would be extreme reactions such as yours to my dislike of your hero. To me he doesnt deserve the adulation so leave it at that! You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine.
And for the record, I would buy an Audi over a BMW simply because I like the cars better. Or SUV's for that matter. For technicality's sake, I personally prefer the overall experience I get from an Audi than from the BMW.
Nothing to do with any celebrity - also a point I had clarified earlier somewhere in this thread.
However, before you attempt your particular brand of sarcasm on me, please view the other posts subsequent to the one you seem so terribly upset about.
Nuff Said. Exiting this thread permanently.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Why get personal and say that you do not like him ? So be it, do not buy a bimmer, next dhoni will endorse Audi and Kohli will endorse MB and maybe Raina will endorse the Skoda. What will you do then ? Sell your car and buy a Maruti ? Wait, even Maruti might be endorsed by bhajji even late after his retirement. And all the other names you suggested maybe endorsing the Indica which might have to be your next car if this trend continues.

You are the kind of typical customer that the brand ambassadors target. In this context, you are saying you will not buy a bimmer because you do not like sachin and you also say you will buy the Audi because you like Katrina.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by ankur_fox

"Sachin Tendulkar hints at playing till 45, says his other passion is cars" - Latest TOI Report

lol ... no kidding!

And he also has a passion for clean hands and jam filled biscuits and some malted powder drink is the secret of his energy.

He is a great cricketer no doubt though.

And to naysayers of Dada. Id only say just watch the video of India's win in Lord's when Dada took off his t shirt.

Anyway cricketers playing good cricket always make it an interesting game to watch, but they lose their charm once they commercialise themselves as celebrities imho.

[J.B]

I don't understand why sachin wont work for the brand BMW. Also, it is a wrong notion that people who can afford a BMW will be fully aware of the brand Bmw. I think there will be more people in India who can afford a Bmw, audi and benz, but have no clue of what those brands stand for than those who cannot afford even any one of those but know every bit about their models, after all not every one is a car nut. I certainly think sachin will help that clueless business man who has limited knowledge on cars and is being pestered by the Sales managers of luxury brands, to tilt towards a beemer. He might do so just because he might not hav the time to do a model to model comparo, or he gives two hoots about the car itself than the brAnd presence and status, or just because he loves sachin ( he is one of the very few who has fans in almost all age groups) and plonking 50L might not be a very big deal to him. Also, sachin would create interest in those who might hav had the money, but were not really looking to buy a beemer or any car in that segment.

On a funny note, Why would armani, calvin klein or loreal rope in top models and celebs as brand ambassadors, if those who have the money and can afford their products will already know about them ?

[Pedaltothefloor]

I have nothing against sachin except that I don't like cricket so as far as I am concerned, he's no celebrity to me. I would like premium brands to continue with International celebrities; then to localize.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

I have nothing against sachin except that I don't like cricket so as far as I am concerned, he's no celebrity to me. I would like premium brands to continue with International celebrities; then to localize.

Sachin is pretty much an international celebrity in case you didnt know. Or is that you think an Indian cannot be an international celebrity???