Ind vs Pak Asia Cup 2025: Cricket’s biggest clash hits a creative pause in ads

The 17th edition of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, which is being played in the T20I format, is currently underway in the United Arab Emirates, running from September 9 to 28. Whenever India and Pakistan face off in cricket, the excitement isn't just on the field. Over the years, these matches have sparked some of the most memorable ads.

It all began with the 2011 World Cup, when Star Sports launched its “Aane Do” campaign. It treated cricket as theatre, blending wit, anticipation, and the giddy excitement of fans on both sides of the border.

But the real game-changer came four years later. In 2015, the “Mauka Mauka” campaign redefined sports advertising in India. What started as a simple TV spot exploded into a pop culture phenomenon, spawning sequels, memes, and user-generated riffs. It distilled the rivalry into exaggerated humour, a playful one-upmanship that felt festive rather than hostile.

In the years that followed, cola wars, telecom banters, and cinematic broadcaster films kept the rivalry alive, striking a balance between humour and patriotism. In 2017, Star Sports’ “Sabse Bada Moh” ad captured the irresistible pull of India-Pak matches, portraying cricket as an unshakable obsession, more powerful than ambition, taunts, or rivalry, just pure cultural magnetism.

Over time, these ads became events in themselves, elevating the India-Pakistan cricket fixture into the Super Bowl of Indian advertising.

This year, however, the buzz was noticeably quieter. A handful of safe tactical ads trickled out, but there were no high-concept films, no banter-led narratives, no extended brand storylines.

Whether this is a temporary pause or a lasting shift remains to be seen. But one thing’s clear: the ads born out of the India-Pakistan rivalry have left a mark, proving that when sport meets storytelling, the result can be iconic.