Good and Bad PR: Gautam's 'Gambhir' thoughts, Rajasthan Royals 'Pink(E)' promises, Škoda in the driver’s seat

Welcome to this week's Good and Bad PR where we rate some of the most high profile PR campaigns we've seen in India over the past two weeks. We rate each campaign by our complicated black box evaluation methodology which uses 3 assessment levels:

[Rating Metre: Hmmm… → Not bad at all! → Oof, this is awesome!]

BG Is the new Pink(E)

Not too long ago, brands wanted customers. Then they wanted communities. Now they want lore.

BGauss’ Rajasthan Royals partnership came with a pink scooter mascot (BG-PinkE), fan-led dealership activations, and “BG Bhai”, a stadium-inspired anthem built to strengthen youth recall around the brand.

And to be fair, the logic tracks. EVs are no longer competing only on battery range and charging time. Consumers increasingly buy into identity as much as utility, and BGauss seems to understand that people don’t always want products; they want something to belong to.

What gives me pause here, though, is this growing urge for every brand to become culture itself. Bandwagons, for the win, am I right? So, while the campaign gives BGauss a personality beyond specs, anybody paying attention to the vehicle they’re selling?

Bottom line: every brand wants to be a lifestyle mantra now. Some also need to sell scooters, at the end of the day.

Rating: Hmmm…

Get Serious with Gautam Gambhir

Nowadays, the human body is treated like a software update. Fatigue? Remind me tomorrow. Strange pain? Tomorrow. Health check-up? Push subscription renewal to next month.

Redcliffe Labs’ Thoda Gambhir Ho Jao campaign leans into a truth most people would rather postpone along with everything else: health only becomes urgent once it becomes inconvenient.

"Gambhir" is the ideal tag-team:  current head coach of the Indian cricket team, the man himself joining forces with discipline, seriousness, and preparation. Unlike many celebrity campaigns where the ambassador and the idea rarely meet until post-production, this one entered the arena with its game-face on.

The real test is: does this campaign make a difference? Does a cricketer make preventive healthcare more trustworthy or simply more noticeable?

Either way, making health check-ups feel less like bad news and more like basic life prep is not a bad place to start.

Rating: Not bad at all!

G.O.A.T.s Being Goats (Exactly what they’re supposed to be)
Cars have had an interesting journey in branding. First they were transportation from A to B, then they became status symbols, then lifestyles, then ‘philosophies’. Meanwhile, the actual machine is still circling for parking.

But Škoda’s G.O.A.T campaign decided to steer elsewhere—to the track. It cleverly hijacks Gen-Z speak and redirects it towards measurable product performance: Greatest On A Track. Credibility Pro Max.

In a world where every car inspires touchscreen gymnastics and an identity crisis, Škoda reclaims the conversation by asking a fairly reasonable question: can the thing drive? Well, this one certainly can. 

Rating: Oof, this is awesome