Why I think Virat Kohli’s tweet sharing the CRED ad film was a paid engagement ... (& not organic):

Before I give my reasons, want to share the tweet here. It is not difficult to see why it went viral. Stunning ad film, out-of-the-box idea & flawless execution. Kudos to team CRED https://twitter.com/imvkohli/status/1380451732690411521

Here are my views

1. Did you see the Ad film anywhere before? Did it even exist on the Internet before VK posted? Answer is NO! CRED’s own Twitter handle didn’t post it even.
So how did VK miraculously find an ad that wasn’t even released & shared it... definitely not organic :)

2. This reason will also address the question - if it was a paid tweet, why didn’t they ask him to mention the brand in the tweet. Genius, smart & output oriented. Let me explain.
We all know that branded posts get very less engagement. Most users don’t like spending time on them

Very few actually take interest in direct branded content. By not mentioning the brand in the tweet, you have been compelled to watch the video... to find out what the content is.
Hence guaranteed views.

3. Go through VK’s Twitter & U will notice that he rarely tweets on a matchday. & even if he does, it’s about match prep etc. His tweets usually come after the game or on non-matchdays.

So why did he suddenly decide to share something different on a match day?Cos he was ASKED TO

4. We all know Cred spends heavily on cricket.

It cannot be a mere coincidence that the post happened the day the IPL 21 starts...with VK playing the first game.

He could have posted it on any day, but no! It had to be this day.

5. Can you name ONE brand whose ad film was so good that a cricketer tweeted about it, without being associated with the brand?

Even a Ranji player will think twice before sharing anything brand related if he wasn’t paid for it..leave alone the biggest sports star in the country

6. Rahul Dravid is not on social media. So how do you amplify this content on social?

Get the biggest cricketer, contextualise & share in a seemingly organic way..

Massive 6 out-of-the-park. Lesson here for marketeers!

Wrote this thread since there was a lot of debate if the said tweet was paid or organic! Having worked in this industry for a long time, I was sure it wasn’t organic.
But wanted to simplify it for those who weren’t sure.

Lastly, am not taking anything away from the ad film or the campaign. It think it is CRED’s best to date .. exceptional content idea!
This will probably win a few Awards, apart from keeping the memers busy for a long time :)