With Pakistan hosting its biggest cricket tournament in nearly 30 years, Coca-Cola is seizing the opportunity to make a marketing splash—despite being unable to sponsor the national team, which has long been backed by Pepsi. Instead, the beverage giant has turned to a uniquely Pakistani cricket tradition: tape-ball cricket, aiming to capture the nation’s passion for the game and divert attention from its rival.
International cricket in Pakistan was halted after the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team bus, and it wasn’t until 2018 that matches began returning. Now, with the Champions Trophy underway, brands are viewing the tournament as one of the most valuable advertising opportunities in decades.
Unable to associate its brand with Pakistan’s cricket team, Coca-Cola has launched a campaign centered around a limited-edition bottle that plays on the nostalgia of street cricket. The campaign taps into tape-ball cricket, a fast-paced variation played on streets across the country, which has produced some of Pakistan’s most celebrated cricketers.
In its Urdu-language commercial, a young man walks into a store asking for a tennis ball and electrical tape—the essential tools for a tape-ball cricket game. Instead of just handing him the items, the shopkeeper gives him a Coke bottle.
“What’s this?” the customer asks, to which the clerk responds with a knowing smile and nod. As the young man leaves, he peels back the bottle’s label to reveal red tape, wrapping it around the yellow tennis ball—transforming it into the signature tape-ball used in street cricket.
Coca-Cola described the campaign as “a nostalgic, feel-good experience for anyone who has ever played street cricket in Pakistan.” The special-edition bottles will be available at select stores in the country’s major cities.
Pakistan’s soft drink market is dominated by Coca-Cola and Pepsi, with the two brands collectively holding over 80% of the market share, according to an industry report. However, both companies have faced consumer boycotts in Muslim-majority countries since the Gaza war began in October.
This year’s Champions Trophy marks a significant moment for Pakistan, which last hosted a major cricket tournament when it co-hosted the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka. The country was originally set to co-host the 2011 World Cup as well but lost its hosting rights following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team.
Now, with international cricket returning in full force, Coca-Cola is aiming to leverage Pakistan’s deep-rooted cricket culture to challenge Pepsi’s long-standing association with the national team.
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Photo Credit: Instagram Photo of @icctrophytour
