Cricket Legends Turn Movie Stars in Gulf Oil’s 360 degree Ground-breaking Campaign
Gulf Oil Lubricants India is proud to announce the launch of its most ambitious campaign yet. In a ground-breaking move, Gulf is unveiling an ad film that breaks traditional advertising norms by embracing a full-fledged movie format. The campaign, centered on the theme “Har Kadam Berok” – stars Gulf’s long-standing brand ambassador MS Dhoni, alongside cricketing icons Hardik Pandya and Smriti Mandhana.
The ad film, aptly titled “The Unstoppables”—treated and promoted like a Bollywood blockbuster—features everything from theatrical release to music launch, teasers, and a grand premiere. Gulf’s unique approach merges the passion of India’s two greatest fandoms—cricket and Bollywood—offering fans a cinematic experience that reflects the unstoppable energy embodied by its ambassadors. With MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, and Smriti Mandhana in leading roles, Gulf is bringing the glamour, action, and drama of the silver screen into its ad campaign.
Commenting on this novel approach, Mr. Ravi Chawla, MD & CEO of Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd, said, “Our long-standing relationship with MS Dhoni as a brand ambassador has been immensely successful. This time, the idea was to take it a step further by bringing all three of our ambassadors—Dhoni, Hardik, and Smriti—together for a campaign that reflects their unstoppable spirit, much like our products. Their synergy on screen embodies the unstoppable energy that Gulf stands for. This campaign is rooted in our brand ethos, ‘Together, we’re unstoppable,’ and we wanted to do something different with our three superstars. What better way to do that than through the format of a Bollywood movie? This campaign is a bold step in redefining advertising in our industry, and by creating an ad that feels like a movie, we aim to capture the imagination of our audience and truly reflect the values of our brand and our growing nation.”
The campaign captures the fandom of cricket and movies, leveraging the deep emotional connection Gulf has cultivated with its consumers. With cinematic storytelling, “The Unstoppables” ad brings together these cricketing stars in an action-packed narrative that highlights Gulf’s high-performance products. Dhoni, making his debut in this movie-style ad, plays a lead role alongside Smriti Mandhana and Hardik Pandya, blending elements of stardom, drama and action with Gulf’s commitment to innovation and customer engagement.
Mr. Amit Wadhwa, CEO of Dentsu Creative, the agency behind the campaign, shared insights into the creative vision: “Our goal was to create a disruptive and memorable advertising experience. We took inspiration from Bollywood and brought cinematic storytelling into this ad film. The result is something we believe will resonate deeply with the audience. By blending Gulf’s powerful brand narrative with the excitement of a short action film, we’ve created an ad campaign that not only captures attention but also leaves a lasting impact.”
The “The Unstoppables” campaign will be rolled out on ground at Retail stores and across multiple platforms, including Print, TV, Cinema, OOH, and Digital (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Bookmyshow, Spotify etc.). Gulf, a leader in the lubricant industry, has long been associated with motorsports, innovation, and high-performance products. This campaign further strengthens its standing as a forward-thinking brand by introducing a fresh and captivating approach to advertising. The ad film celebrates Gulf’s broad product range and positions the brand as a reliable and resilient choice for consumers, perfectly aligning with the company’s vision of being “unstoppable.”