WG Grace might have been the father of cricket but when it comes to being the greatest cricketer of all time, most folks tend to agree on the name of Sir Donald Bradman. The Aussie legend's batting records will perhaps never be matched and it was hardly surprising that he was a prime ad target. Unfortunately, he was not utilised too well, as this pre-War ad for Elasta Strap self-supporting trousers illustrates. The Don did not even look like that!

Cricketers had been appearing in ads since the 19th century but they became a real rage in the ad world when Denis Compton started advertising for Brylcreem in the 1950s. Compton was the first cricketer who became a glamour figure, because of a very charismatic appearance, carefree style of play and a hectic social life. He was good enough to play top level football too. Model perfect. Perhaps cricket's first real ad star!

The 1950s was also the time when cricket had the Indian sub continent in its grip, and Indian cricketers became targets for advertisers. While a number of brands got Indian cricketers on board, one of the most prominent was again, Brycreem, which got Vinoo Mankad, India's biggest cricket star of the 1950s to endorse its hair grooming benefits. He is seen here in this ad with another cricketer, Gulabrai Ramchand!

It is notable, however, that a lot of the ads featuring cricketers revolved around sport, food and appearance, where their core strengths of being fit and healthy athletes could be leveraged. A classic example is this 1960s ad of legendary Indian batsman, Polly Umrigar advertising Sloan's Liniment to tackle "muscular aches, strains and pains." Cricketers were not yet considered 'lifestyle' icons. That would change.

Brylcreem continued to have a close association with cricket. This is Farokh Engineer modelling for it in the late 1960s. Engineer was very much like England's Compton - a flair player know for his personality and charisma as much as cricket, This is perhaps why the ad does not show him playing cricket - his personal appearance mattered much more!

The 1970s saw a significant increase in cricket ads with more brands seeing the sport's potential. A lot of the ad momentum was also swinging towards the Indian sub continent where cricket was emerging as THE sport and attracting huge audiences. Sunil Gavaskar is credited with being one of the first cricketers to be really aware of his commercial potential, although this soap ad early in his career does not seem to reflect this!

The 1980s were when cricket and advertisers really got comfortable with each other. A huge factor was the decision of soft drink brands to associate themselves heavily with the sport. And as cricketer became proper media celebrities, they started appearing increasingly in lifestyle. MAK Pataudi ('Tiger') was an ambassador for Gwalior Suitings, Ravi Shastri for Proline and Sunil Gavaskar even called him "Dinesh Gavaskar" in a Dinesh Suitings ad!

The eighties also saw perhaps the most iconic line ever uttered by an Indian cricketer in an ad. Kapil Dev had emerged as a superstar and was signed up by Palmolive. His early ads followed the general "this is good" template, but then came an ad which featured his famous "Palmolive da jawaab nahin" line - it was utterly Indian, and utterly Kapil! The cricket ad era had arrived! Pepsi and others would take it to another level in the 1990s!