Gionee's brand ambassador Virat Kohli will now appear in its rival Oppo’s advertisements

Oppo’s rival Gionee may not be happy on Oppo becoming the sponsor for the Virat Kohli led India for the next 5 years. This is because Kohli, who is the brand ambassador for Gionee, will now appear for Oppo advertisements instead.

According to brand experts, similar things have happened earlier as well. Former Indian skipper was endorsing Reebok but then had to appear for Nike’s ad as the latter became the official sponsor for team India’s kits.

Harish Bijoor, a brand strategist said that such cases will keep becoming common “in an environment where brand ambassadors are in a short supply while there is a big clutter of brands. so the brands will need to have a tolerance for this”

It was in 1992 when the first of this brand war seen on the television when basketball legend Michael Jordan, who is known for his long association with Nike, had to wear Reebok-made uniform for an awards ceremony in the United States. The matter became so grave that Jordan covered Reebok’s logo with the American flag.

Only two days ago, Oppo mobile manufacturer emerged as the highest bidder for the Team India sponsor as the Board of Control for Cricket in India raked in an all-time figures. The deal was struck as India were battling it out against Australia for a 75-runs win in the second Test in Bangalore.

Oppo has paid Rs 1079 crore for a five-year deal, outbidding Vivo mobiles’ Rs 768 crore bid. The mobile manufacturing giant will pay Rs 4.61 crore per bilateral match and Rs 1.56 crore for an ICC event match. Sahara was the previous highest bidder for Team India sponsorship with Rs 3.34 crore per match. STAR India paid Rs 1.92 crore per bilateral match and Rs 61 lakh for an ICC match.