Sania to bat for Coke

It is being described as the new non-cricket plank in Coca-Cola’s armoury. First ace shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore was signed up by Coca-Cola India and now it has completed the circle by inking a two-year deal with teen-on-plimsolls sensation Sania Mirza.

Having realised that entertainment and cricket, barring Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerjee, Aishwarya Rai and Virendra Sehwag, are majorly with their rival, Coke seems to have adopted this strategy. Industry sources revealed to HT that doubles ace Mahesh Bhupathi's Globus Sports Inc is the centrifugal force behind the deal. The two-year deal is worth Rs 65 lakh, making it the highest-paid non-cricket and non-entertainment endorsement deals.

The tennis icon will add zing to the Coke ad campaign beginning March this year under a two-year contract. When contacted Coca-Cola India spokesperson confirmed that they were in talks with the tennis star. However, they refused to divulge the details. The deal is to be signed this week.

The tennis star too is unavailable for comment as she is currently out of the country.

According to sources, taking Sania on board close on the heels of signing up Athens Olympic silver medallist Lt. Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore clearly underlines Coca-Cola’s strategy to strengthen its association with the world of sports.

Traditionally, the cola major has largely focused on signing up personalities from the field of entertainment including stars like Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar, Rani Mukherjee, Trisha, Vikram, Chiranjeevi, Jeet, and Mona Singh. The company was smart enough to ink a deal with the unheralded Virendra Sehwag as far back as 2001.

While Coke has announced a new tagline for their global advertising campaign ‘Welcome to the Coke Side of Life’ in an attempt to make the drink more relevant to the customers, Coke India is banking on the ‘Piyo sar utha ke’ campaign to get the same connect. However, sources said that the Sania-mania campaign would be different.