Anand stars in AMD commercial!
Viswanathan Anand is a chess player par excellence and a befitting World Champion. His humility is in direct contrast with his aggressive style of play, but one thing that Anand understands very clearly is that chess was his calling and not cricket. 🙂
Anand is a pitchman for AMD processors and really does well in this commercial! It is refreshing to see chess players given regard instead of being cast as an eccentric genius. Most commercials seen in the West make chess to be something abnormal or strange. In India, chess has become a national obsession… thanks to Anand. He is a credit to chess.
This is a good find. I wonder if we will see this commercial in the states. I have worked with several good friends from India.
Even those who don’t understand cricket will know that Anand was overmatched here when the bowler keeps getting him out by knocking the peg (bail) off the stakes (stumps). Indians are obsessed with cricket and it is popular in many developing countries and most of the former British colonies. Had I played I would have been a bowler, a position similar to a baseball pitcher.
I read a recent New York Times article that talked about commercializing cricket a bit more by having faster matches and even using cheerleaders! In India, this was frowned upon. I believe Asia and the West Indies have added a more colorful element to cricket, but I believe there is a fear that cricket will lose its character.
As a longtime chessplayer and a recently converted cricket fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Great find, Dr. Shabazz!
I absolutely love the commercial. It puts chess players in a great light and Anand looks like a natural in front of the camera. I could see him being a news anchor. 😉
Here is one with GM Veselin Topalov for an banking service. I posted this some time ago in a 65th Square essay, titled, “Chess and the Dynamics of Business.” Looking at the video, I find myself doing this with table objects. Just kidding. 😆
I am loving these commercials. My motivation to research video is increasing every day.