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NEW DELHI, Sept. 11

NOW that the controversy over endorsements has settled down, cricket fever seems to have reached a frenzied pitch.

Coinciding with the ICC Cricket Champions trophy, Pepsi India is rolling out a series of television commercials to cash in on the cricket fever. And the soft drink major has settled for a combination of Bollywood stars and cricketers for its television commercials.

The commercials, titled `Cup Fever' will feature two sets of ads. While the first of these will star Shah Rukh Khan and Fardeen Khan, the second film has Shah Rukh Khan paired opposite Kareena Kapoor, company officials said.

According to the officials, the films have been made "from a cricket fan's perspective, and capture the insight that everyone wants India to bring home the World Cup". Hence the sign off line Ek baar aur (once again).

Both films, which are each 30-seconds long, have been created by Pepsi's regular ad agency HTA, and directed by ad film maker Sunil Sippy.

Meanwhile, Pepsi India's `Men in blue' TV campaign, which broke a few days ago, is now being extended to a consumer-level promotion. This too is being supported by a television commercial, company officials said. This film also breaks to coincide with the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy and is expected to run for about a month.

Both `Men in blue' films have been directed by film maker Santosh Sivan. It features seven cricketers — Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and V.V.S. Laxman.

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