The Sleep Company has announced cricketer MS Dhoni as brand ambassador, in a partnership that aims to tackle one of India’s most ignored health issues - sleep deprivation. 

Conceptualised by StevePriya, the campaign titled ‘India Vs Peaceful Sleep,’ uses the intrigue of Dhoni’s jersey number 8 to highlight a startling reality—while millions of Indians are ‘sleeping,’ very few are achieving the 8 hours of peaceful sleep they deserve. By championing the number 8, Dhoni is urging a nation of ‘hustlers’ to prioritise peaceful sleep.

The campaign comprises an ad film featuring the cricketer, which highlights a simple but often overlooked reality - while people may be spending hours in bed, they are not necessarily getting the peaceful sleep they deserve. It highlights how factors such as constant tossing, frequent position changes, and underlying back discomfort continue to impact the quality of rest.

What we think about it: Using Dhoni’s jersey number as the creative hook in a cricket-obsessed market is a smart move. By tying sleep to national well-being and using a symbol with instant recall, the mattress brand cleverly positions itself as a provider of solutions for a pressing ‘national issue.’

Priyanka Salot and Harshil Salot, co-founders, The Sleep Company, said, “India is the second most sleep-deprived country in the world. To change a national habit, you need national attention and there is no one India trusts more than MS Dhoni. This isn't just a campaign; it's a movement to redefine well-being. With MS Dhoni leading the charge, we want to make '8 hours of peaceful sleep' a non-negotiable part of every Indian household.” 

Priya Pardiwalla, chief creative officer, StevePriya, “In a country that is always pushing, striving, and staying switched on, peaceful sleep has quietly become one of India’s biggest unmet needs. With MS Dhoni joining The Sleep Company, we knew the story had to be told in a disruptive way. It began with four words: ‘India vs Peaceful Sleep.’ By visualising this personal nightly conflict at the scale of a stadium, we brought alive the urgent need to reclaim what so many have been missing: 8 hours of peaceful sleep.”