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Why this hullabaloo over the Birla Sunlife TV commercial featuring Yuvraj Singh’s current status? Are the Brand owners and their Advertising agency a bunch of insensitive rogues? How dare they ill-treat Yuvi – our hero, tossing him around on prime time television, when he is being treated for his own life? They have no bloody right to make mockery of the apple of so-many eyes.

Yuvraj Singh is the brand ambassador of Birla Sunlife, and he has been endorsing the brand for a while. Apropos to any Life insurance message, Birla SunLife’s communication too is based on the premise of life’s ups and downs and how one must be geared to deal with ill-timed incidences. Birla Sunlife telecasted its first TV campaign when Yuvraj Singh was in his worst form, and was unceremoniously booted out of the team. Many a distinguished pundits had buried him under the cricket pitch. Folks from his own fraternity called him nasty names like fat, lethargic and arrogant. It was certainly the lowest dip on Yuvi’s life cycle graph.

Then came the Birla SunLife campaign on television. The Birla SunLife guys gave Yuvraj an opportunity to narrate his status on National television, most honestly and humbly, with the camera closing in right onto his eyes, the ‘jub tuk balla chal raha hai, thaat hai; Jub balla nahi chalega toh…’ line struck a chord with the target audience. It helped Yuvraj Singh a great deal to reconstruct his image in the eyes of his fading fans, and pick himself from that brief setback filled with uncertainty and pessimism. The campaign worked like a shot in the arm of Brand Yuvraj. Even Virendra Sehwag made an appearance while he was undergoing a rough patch. But it was Yuvraj Singh’s innings all the way – a partnership mutually beneficial to both, the brand and the boy. The rest is history, as Yuvraj Singh went on to become the biggest game changer inIndia’s victory in the World Cup.

Back to present. It is public news that Yuvraj Singh is diagnosed with germ cell cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy in the US. There obviously is a huge flutter of grief and gloom amongst fans and fraternity. Emotions are high. The cricket crazy country cannot bear to see their poster boy in pain. From marketing point of view, Birla Sunlife’s current advert is perfectly timed. However a whole lot of antagonists have run down the campaign and the intent of the Birla SunLife. The critics are not necessarily people who love the cricketer. Most noise is coming from the competitors of the brand and rivals of its advertising agency. Unable to digest the master stroke played by the brand with much finesse and fine timing, they have kicked up a storm – How can a brand be so insensitive to air the advertisement, when the superman of cricket is suffering? It’s manipulation; exploiting a tragedy to its advantage; Height of incivility, and so on.

The bolt from the blue came yesterday. Some business news channels made it public that Birla SunLife’s current ad campaign has Yuvraj Singh’s consent. Obviously. Think about it. Neither the brand, nor the agency would run the commercial without Yuvraj’s ok. It would be foolish to air the advertisement in Indian media without it approved by the man himself, and his manager momma. If it wasn’t so, the cricketer’s fans would rubbish the TVC eventually. But the critics still maintain that Birla Sunlife and their advertising advisors have messed up the campaign, leaving a very sour taste in the viewers’ mouths. They have played with the emotions of the cricketer’s fans and family.

To cut a long story short – Nobody is exploiting anybody.

You would have been eligible to point a finger [or, going by his fan following, a thousand million fingers] if Birla SunLife had just re-run the past advertising campaign to encash on the current tragedy. But that’s not the case. It is apparent that a fresh TVC has been conceptualized and created jointly by the Brand, the Agency and the Endorser. This was in all probability done after the medical condition of Yuvraj was known. The decision to produce the advertisement was a commercial one, without any room for remorse or sentiments. Obviously, neither Birla SunLife nor Yuvraj could resist the temptation to hit another six-6s’, this time without wearing any pads or the abdomen guard.

Birla SunLife and Yuvraj Singh, both have an agenda – to build their respective brands. Neither is trying to prove a point to you and me. There is lot of money involved. Both are purely thinking in terms of business. Jub Birla-Yuvi raazi, toh why are you being the kaazi?

“Why this Kolavari di?,” didn’t he make it loud and clear day before? High time Indian viewers pick themselves up from their own self-created emotional dungeon. Don’t be remorseful. All’s fair in love and cricket.

And here’s a final word of advice to BCCI and Punjab Cricket Association. Don’t worry too much about reimbursing Yuvraj’s medical expenses. Birla Sunlife Insurance will foot the bill, one way or the other.

You mind your own business, BCCI.