Puma | How ambush marketing was taken to a new level at the Olympics?

Promoting at the Olympics is safely guarded. After all, the keys to sponsorships sell for more than a billion dollars every four years.

Outside of that, no shenanigans are permitted.

When the clearly-defined rules are tampered with, the IOC gets very angry. They impose steep sanctions on those who transgress.

Meanwhile, with marketing, the brilliance often occurs at the edges, the tiny, hidden grey area between what is allowed and what isn’t. It is in this small pocket, that guerilla marketers unlock fortunes.

This is why this story is so brilliant.

The Setup

Usain Bolt owns the word ‘fast’. He is sponsored by internet companies. He is sponsored by jogging apparel.

And at the time, he was heavily sponsored by Puma, who was paying Bolt $10M a year as his primary sponsor, making him the face of the company.

They needed to capitalize on the Rio Games to justify this investment. Running a mere minute-long commercial would cost millions. And they lacked the budget to become a full-blown Olympic sponsor.

They needed a workaround.



100m Final

Usain Bolt flew across the finish line in 9.81 seconds, securing his gold medal.

He lifted his golden shoes high up in the air, striking his pose, and then took a lap around the stadium




It was all staged.

And as soon as he’d crossed the finish line, the marketing department at Puma kicked into high gear. It was 4 a.m. in their German offices. Their social media teams started carpet bombing social media with these images:

Notice this image doesn’t include a picture of Bolt or a reference to the Olympics. This was deliberate.
Here’s why

If you look at the actual footage from the race, he was wearing his gold shoes but they were modified:

The Olympic Committee had strictly forbidden marketing slogans being displayed by athletes. This was enforced down to the most minute details.

How Puma and Bolt Tricked Everyone

Technically — they hadn’t broken the rules. At the time of his race, the phrase was not an official marketing slogan. It was just in the moments after that it became one.

Additionally, and with a slight twist, the phrase on his shoes ‘forever fastest’ was simply a homage to Puma’s official slogan ‘forever faster’, which was named after Bolt in the months prior.

Bolt and Puma planned beforehand that he would hold the gold shoes up while doing his pose to help them be seen on cameras.

The inscribing on the insoles of his shoes was also deliberate. Bolt was zoomed in on more than any other athlete during the Olympics.

There was an additional reason Puma didn’t reference the Olympics or medals when posting Bolt’s shoes: they didn’t need to.

Everyone on the planet who was following the Olympics knew Bolt won his 100m when they saw these images. They knew exactly what Puma was talking about, without Puma having to be explicit.

By circumventing the rules, they’d pulled off a monster free advertisement that would have easily cost them tens of millions to buy. In turn, it led to more than $50M increased sales of their product in the following months.

Meanwhile, Nike was infuriated. They’d paid more than $100M to be the featured shoe brand of the Olympics. They threatened legal action in the aftermath, but when push came to shove, there was nothing more they could do.

Following these Olympics, the IOC had to tweak the marketing rules yet again which, when it comes to ambush marketing, is the surest sign of a win.

The Long Fight / Gender Gap| The New York Times

Agency: Droga5 New York

Client: The New York Times

Country: United States


The New York Times has a history of providing unparalleled coverage on gender in sports. When 2019 saw female athletes fighting a public battle for equality, it used the US Open as a backdrop to demonstrate how its journalism has been there at every step. This film takes 50 years of archival headlines and shows how hard women had to fight to level the playing field. 

As the rally unfolds, each word brings viewers through the years. The sound design mimics the setbacks and breakthroughs, bringing you to the headlines of the present day. Online, readers got a deeper look into the featured article.

The 9'58 Biography|PUMA Brazil

Agency: BETC São Paulo

Client: PUMA Brazil

Country: Brazil


In 2009, Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record and made history. But behind this incredible mark, there is a lot of sweat, training and effort. In 2019, ten years later, PUMA Brazil wanted to tell this story, showing an angle that few people know, creating a tribute as outstanding as the world's fastest man. 

BETC São Paulo created a biography that shows all the training and effort behind that mark. But Bolt's biography could not be an ordinary book. It had to be as fast as him. So, the biography is also a flipbook, showing an animation that lasts 9.58s, and recreating the iconic race.

Sportengland.org| This Girl Can

The award-winning ‘This Girl Can’ campaign, which first launched in January 2015, set out to encourage more women to play sports, challenging the common perceptions of women that they constantly need to conform to the unrealistic standards set by the media.

The nationwide campaign was born from the discovery that the numbers of men playing regular sport far outweighed that of women by every measure (two million fewer 14 to 40 year olds in total), despite the fact that “75% of women would like to do more.”

With insights revealing that “millions of women and girls are afraid to exercise because of fear of judgement”, Sport England saw an opportunity “to get women and girls moving, regardless of shape, size and ability”, by telling the real stories of women who play sport, in direct opposition to the idealised and stylised images of women we usually see.

Achieving national success, the campaign’s flagship film was viewed by over 13 million people, and resulted in almost 150,000 women becoming regularly active in England since its launch.

“The figures on participation are crystal clear”, says Sport England CEO Jennie Price.“There is a significant gender gap, with two million more men than women exercising or playing sport regularly.”

“I believe we can tackle this gap, because our research shows that 75% of women would like to do more.”

We’re the Superhumans| Channel 4

http://wearethesuperhumans.com/

This inspiring campaign, launched by Channel 4’s in-house creative agency, 4Creative, to advertise the 2016 Rio Paralympics, is an ideal example of marketing that works, developed from a deep understanding of their audience.

In the lead up to the event, having conducted extensive research into athlete perceptions and audience attitudes, the marketing team launched a campaign called ‘Freaks of Nature’, challenging the perceptions of disability in sport, soon to evolve into the follow-up campaign entitled ‘Meet the Superhumans’.

Veering away from convention, the campaign portrayed Paralympians in a new light, as fearless ‘superhumans’ as opposed to people to pity.

Dramatically changing the way their audience viewed disabled athletes, 64% of viewers stated that the Channel 4 coverage had had a favourable impact on their perceptions of people with disabilities, with 82% agreeing that disabled athletes were as talented as their able-bodied counterparts.

Winning a number of national and international awards, the campaign quickly became the second most shared Olympics-related ad of all time on social media.

“One of the main challenges we faced was overcoming the indifference people felt towards the Paralympics”, says 4Creative Business Director, Olivia Browne. “One of the key ingredients to the idea’s success was the single-minded belief that the Paralympics did not have to be second best to the Olympics and could have its own voice, swagger and attitude.”

Agency: 4creative
Client: Channel 4
Award: Black & Yellow Pencil / Film Advertising Crafts / Direction for Film Advertising, 2013

Channel 4's live broadcast of the opening ceremony on the night of August 29 2012 was watched by 11.8 million TV viewers - its largest audience in ten years. The campaign also successfully raised awareness and understanding of disability in sport and helped the London 2012 Paralympics become the first Paralympic Games to sell out.

When Channel 4 became official broadcaster of the Paralympics, just 14% of the population said they were looking forward to the event. By the time the event closed, 64%* of the population agreed that the Paralympics were as good as the Olympics - a figure that rose to 79% among those who had watched Channel 4's Paralympics coverage. Meanwhile, 69%* of viewers said it was the first time they had made the effort to watch the Paralympics.

Other findings underlined this attitudinal shift. By the games' end, 65%* of viewers felt Channel 4's coverage had had a favourable impact on their perceptions of people with disabilities. 82%* agreed that disabled athletes were as talented as able-bodied - 91% among those who had watched the coverage. 68% felt the coverage had had a favourable impact on their perceptions of disabled people in sport.

Meanwhile 'Meet the Superhumans' was widely-praised for its creativity and impact winning many national and international awards including a D&AD Black Pencil, four D&AD Yellow Pencils and a Nomination at D&AD Awards 2013.


Channel 4 set out to make its coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games the biggest event in Channel 4's history and, by doing so, take Paralympic sport to another level. The end result was a powerful and striking campaign at the heart of which sat a 90-second TV ad, 'Meet the Superhumans'.

This film presented a number of Paralympians in 'do or die' training mode with reference to background stories and a climax depicting the intensity of elite sport competition set to a rousing musical soundtrack. Showing Paralympians as powerful warriors rather than people to pity was a striking break with convention.

'Meet the Superhumans' was Channel 4's biggest marketing push in 30 years. The campaign's scale plus its attitude, energy and production values helped create an unprecedented atmosphere of anticipation and excitement in the build up to the games.

The broadcaster's live broadcast of the opening ceremony was watched by 11.8 million TV viewers - its largest audience in ten years. The campaign also successfully raised awareness and understanding of disability in sport and helped the London 2012 Paralympics become the first Paralympic Games to sell out.
The Story


"Working with a broadcaster like Channel 4 was an opportunity for the Paralympics' organisers to take Paralympic sport to a whole new level," says Channel 4 Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Dan Brooke.

Channel 4 has a public service remit set by parliament which requires it to be innovative, distinctive, represent alternative views and bring minority voices centre stage. As a result, its winning bid for the Paralympic broadcast rights was underpinned by a number of important commitments.

For example, it committed to significantly increasing broadcast coverage - it eventually broadcast 500 hours, 400% more than the BBC's Paralympic coverage from Beijing in 2008. It also pledged to make the games more accessible to a wider audience; ensure at least 50% of the event's TV presenters were disabled; and explain disabled sports in new and more engaging ways.

"We knew from the outset editorial and advertising would need to work hand-in-hand if we were to achieve our goal of representing the event and its athletes as elite and world class with unique ability beyond their disability," Head of Marketing James Walker adds. "The challenge was: how?"
The Strategy


An internal, cross-departmental team was assembled spanning marketing, editorial and Channel 4's in-house creative agency / production company 4Creative which develops and produces creative campaigns for Channel 4 programming. "As both the marketing team and 4Creative report to me, the relationship is more equal partners than client and agency," Brooke explains.

Research into athletes' perceptions and audience attitudes was commissioned to help inform from the outset the overall vision and tone for both Channel 4's Paralympic editorial coverage and marketing. On-going attitudinal tracking was also put in place to gauge shifts over time and help feed into the early stages of creative development.

In August 2010, two years before London 2012, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary called 'Inside Incredible Athletes' - its first Paralympic-themed programming. This was supported by a marketing campaigned called 'Freaks of Nature' designed to challenge perceptions of disability in sport and encourage viewers to question their own prejudices.

"The intention was to change people's attitudes and to do that we needed to take them on a journey," Walker says. "'Freaks of Nature' was intended to challenge by turning the meaning of the phrase on its head. The idea was that if great athletes are considered exceptional and different, why not apply the same standard to Paralympians?"

The concept and the attitude it encapsulated provided an important part of the foundation for the campaign that would become 'Meet the Superhumans.'


In late 2011, work began in earnest on the London 2012 Paralympic Games launch marketing campaign at the heart of which would be a TV commercial. "The commercial was always going to be the centrepiece because TV is the strongest medium," Walker says. "And TV is the best medium to sell TV."

4Creative's starting point was the idea that Paralympic athletes are 'superhuman' - an evolution from the 'Freaks of Nature' campaign. "The line is the idea - I can't separate the two," explains Tom Tagholm, Channel 4's former Network Creative Director, who conceived and directed the 'Meet the Superhumans' campaign. "I'll normally try to write a visual idea and end in a line that sums up the thought in a strong way. It's what happened here."

What was needed was a creative execution that would make people both watch and think again about what they were watching - to wonder at who would win, rather than wonder that a disabled athlete can compete at all.


Tagholm's idea was for a film depicting the pain and joy involved in the intense preparation for and participation in elite, world-class competition with reference to some of the Paralympians' back stories - an explosion, a car crash, a mum in hospital. Its success would depend on conveying the emotional intensity, energy and attitude of the athletes themselves.

A decision was made to shoot live sports footage at Paralympian test events and storyboard iconic shots which selected athletes would then be asked to recreate.

"One of the main challenges we faced was overcoming the indifference people felt towards the Paralmypics. One of the key ingredients to the idea's success was the single-minded belief that the Paralympics did not have to be second best to the Olympics and could have its own voice, swagger and attitude," says 4Creative Business Director Olivia Browne.

"We absolutely embraced the athletes: their stance, the ways they've adapted to their sport, the ways they use their bodies. We sought to capture their 'take us as we are' spirit in a way that hadn't been done before - to celebrate the ability beyond their disability."

Led by producers Gwilym Gwillim and Rory Fry, the 4Creative production team spent 16 days shooting Paralympians all over the country but only for limited periods of time due to their intense training regimes. At all times the emphasis was on the need to find camera angles that were new and felt special. "On some occasions up to ten cameras were used - a mixture of formats including Phantom, Alexa and Canon 5D," Browne adds. "We even invented rigs that didn't exist to get right to the heart of the action."


Striking the right balance in the created scenes between footage that was both natural and shot from the heart of the action was also a challenge. Meanwhile, the back story scenes were storyboarded then shot as a "flashback moment" that would appear only briefly to provide an emotional jolt in the middle of the film.

"I didn't know these scenes would come in the middle of the ad until I got a little way into the edit," Tagholm says. "It just seemed the right place to not dwell on or over-dramatise these moments, but ensure they are felt in a vivid way."

The importance of attitude and emotional intensity made 4Creative editor Tim Hardy's role critical. Pace was essential - each shot had to be high energy, with nothing slow or moody. It was about being unapologetic with every aspect of the production - including the choice of music. Which is why when early on in the edit Hardy suggested Public Enemy's 'Harder Than You Think' all involved agreed the fit was perfect.

"I wrote 'Meet the Superhumans' to a hip hop track and this is where we looked first," Tagholm explains. "'Harder Than You Think' has the energy and the swagger and happens to work lyrically so it's got a few things going for it."

What did the Judges Have to say about Meet the Superhumans?

Watch our D&AD Black Pencil Judging film to find out.


Throughout the campaign's development, Channel 4 was in regular and close contact with Olympic organiser LOCOG, the Paralympic authorities and local sports governing bodies as well as its own sponsorship partners: Sainsbury and BT. "The big discussion with our external partners was about the unconventional way we proposed promoting the sport," Brooke explains. "But we were confident in our approach and the knowledge that we had won the broadcast rights because of (not despite) our commitment to handling them in a Channel 4 way."

Another challenge was when to launch 'Meet the Superhumans' to maximise its potential impact, Walker adds: "The question was whether to start it before, during or after the Olympics. Before seemed the right option allowing us both more time to build reach and to show clearly that the Paralympics can be the equal of the Olympics."

So 'Meet the Superhumans' was mass-launched simultaneously across 78 TV channels on Tuesday July 17 2012 at 9pm to reach at least 50% of the UK TV audience in one fell swoop. The film was supported by a series of posters continuing the 'Superhumans' theme and a stunt - 'Thanks for the warm up' - in which Channel 4 used Twitter and outdoor media in the final days of the Olympics to thank that event for preparing the audience for the Paralympics.

Looking back, Brooke believes Channel 4 creative culture played a central role in the campaign's success. "Our remit to be innovative and distinctive is so deeply engrained when I turn down ideas it's more likely to be because they are too conservative," he says.

"Some might question whether a cross-departmental committee is the best way of developing creative ideas. But it works for us because more people in a room allows more stress testing and sharpening of ideas, not less. 'Meet the Superhumans' typifies the importance of being bold while staying true to your core brand values and demonstrates the value of taking a creative risk."

Tagholm agrees: "The thinking was to go big and never be apologetic. You can't do this in an organisation if people are scared."

Credit:

Channel 4 is proud to present the 3-minute trailer for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Signed & Subtitled and Audio Described versions are available in the playlist. Download the track at http://wearethesuperhumans.com from Sat 16th July, with all profits going to the British Paralympic Association. Writers: Strouse/Adams Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music Publishing Ltd Hannah Cockcroft – ParalympicsGB Wheelchair Racer 00:32 Mel Nicholls – ParalympicsGB Wheelchair Racer 00:34 Joren Teeuwen - Netherlands Paralympics High Jumper 00:37 Matt Stutzman – USParalympics Archer 00:49 ParalympicsGB Wheelchair Rugby Team 1:00 & 2:24 Iaroslav Semenenko – Ukrainian Paralympic Swimmer – 1:26 Richard Whitehead – ParalympicsGB Athlete 1:27 & 2:09 ParalympicsGB Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team 1:32 Piers Gilliver and Dimitri Coutya - ParalympicsGB Fencers 1.35 & 2:11 Ellie Simmonds – ParalympicsGB Swimmer 1:54 Libby Clegg – ParalympicsGB Sprinter 1:55 Sam Ruddock – ParalympicsGB Shot Put 1:56 Jody Cundy – Paralympics GB Cyclist 1:57 David Weir – ParalympicsGB Wheelchair Racer 1:57 Will Bayley and Kim Daybell – ParalympicsGB Table Tennis 2:07 Jessica Jane Applegate – ParalympicsGB Swimmer 2:10 Ali Jawad – ParalympicsGB Powerlifter 2:11 Natalie Blake – ParalmypicsGB Powerlifter 2:11 Micky Yule – ParalympicsGB Powerlifter 2:12 Chris Skelley and Jack Hodgson – ParalympicsGB Judokas 2.30

For once, Don’t Do It | Nike

The latest Nike advertisement is a play on the company's slogan, "Just Do It," while also addressing racism.

The ad, titled, "For once, Don't Do It," contains several powerful messages throughout the one-minute spot:

• Don't pretend there's not a problem in America
• Don't turn your back on racism.
• Don't accept innocent lives being taken in front of us.
• Don't make any more excuses.
• Don't think this doesn't affect you.
• Don't sit back and be silent.
• Don't think you can't be part of the change.
• Let's all be part of the change.

The ad, created by Wieden + Kennedy Portland, is a series of simple yet powerful statements set on a black background: 

“Nike has a long history of standing against bigotry, hatred and inequality in all forms,” said a Nike spokesperson. “We hope that by sharing this film we can serve as a catalyst to inspire action against a deep issue in our society and encourage people to help shape a better future.”

The spot illustrated Nike’s commitment to social issues and highlighted one of the brand’s most visible athletes in that space.

Nike|Never Too Far Down

Nike's back with another uplifting ad designed to give us the courage to get through the pandemic. This 90-second narration from LeBron James reminds us how sports are the ultimate beacon for hope. No matter how far you might be down, like say three games to one or behind 28-3 in the Super Bowl, there's always hope.

The 90-second spot, “Never Too Far Down,” was created by Wieden + Kennedy Portland. Humanity’s comeback story, featuring world-class athletes, is what one would expect from a Nike ad. Narrated by LeBron James, the film features elite Nike athletes, including Serena Willams, Naomi Osaka, Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, Megan Rapinoe and others.

The three-act structure in the minute and a half spot vacillates from struggle and pain, to finding a way through, to, ultimately, triumph. It’s a hopeful, inspiring message that we’re all hoping to experience before too long.

In classic Nike and W+K fashion, the simplicity of impactful imagery, sound (in this case, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ excellent version of David Bowie’s Life on Mars?) and words make a significant impact. The latter is particularly impressive, with obvious metaphors to the current crisis.

CREDITS:

Client: Nike
Campaign: Never Too Far Down

W+K Portland
Executive Creative Directors: Eric Baldwin, Jason Bagley
Creative Directors: Alberto Ponte, Ryan O’Rourke
Art Director: Lee Jenninigs
Copywriter: Kevin Steele
Head of Production: Matt Hunnicutt
Executive Producers: Jake Grand, Krystle Mortimore
Producer: Emily Knight
Associate Producer: Shani Storey
Group Brand Director: Andre Gustavo
Brand Director: Kate Rutkowski
Brand Manager: Steve Smith
Group Strategy Director: Paula Bloodworth
Global Group Media Director: Daniel Sheniak
US Group Media Director: Reme DeBisschop
Associate Media Director: Emily Dalton
Media Supervisor: Graham Wallace
Sr. Business Affairs Managers: Laura Caldwell, Adam Caviezel
Integrated Traffic Managers: Sabrina Reddy, Billy Mucha
Sr. Creative Operations Manager: David Ramirez
Studio Manager: Michael Frediani
Retoucher: Amy Ellars
Designers: Nick Humbel, Mitch Wilson

Production Company
Production Company: Park Pictures
Director: Lance Acord
Executive Producer: Jackie Kelman Bisbee
EP / Producer: Caroline Kousidonis
Production Manager: Joe Faulstich

Editorial
Company: Spot Welders
Editor: Robert Duffy
Assistant Editor: JC Nunez
Assistant Editor: Fatos Marishta
Managing Partner: David Glean
Executive Producer: Carolina Padilla

VFX
VFX Company: Shipping + Handling
Creative Director, Lead VFX: Casey Price
Creative Director, VFX: Jerry Spivack
VFX: James Buongiorno, Johannes Gamble, Evelyn Lee, Rachel Moorer
Managing Partner: David Glean
VFX Executive Producer: Scott Friske, Dustin LaForce

Color
Color Company: A52
Colorist: Daniel De Vue
Color Executive Producer: Thatcher Peterson
Color Producer: Jenny Bright

Mix
Mix Company: Joint Editorial
Audio Mixer: Natalie Huizenga
Executive Producer: Leslie Carthy

Music Supervision
Company: Walker
Senior Executive Producer: Sara Matarazzo
Executive Producer: Stephanie Pigott
Producer: Danielle Soury

Music
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross “Life on Mars?” by David Bowie

Björn Borg | Björn Borg Party Training

Insight

Björn Borg is Swedish for “David”.

The sportswear category is dominated with brands like Nike and Adidas, world-renowned titans of both the category and marketing. Björn Borg also makes sportswear, but it has established itself primarily for its line of underwear. Unfortunately for Björn Borg, a trend of personal training has swept through its core markets and the hype and pretentiousness behind these global giants of sportswear came along with it.

Björn Borg was set up for a David vs. Goliath clash against these sportswear makers in its own backyard, but these global giants sell performance and winning for a living and aren’t used to losing. They play a game where the odds are in their favour. But as they invaded Björn Borg’s territory, Starcom Mediavest Group wanted to show them that Björn Borg sportswear plays something different altogether.

Strategy

Choice: “Winning” or “Winning and Looking Good”.

The goal most people have when they train or work out is to look good – a trim physique and big muscles are more attractive than the alternative. They’re trying to impress others outside of the gym and while they’re at the gym as well. Having the right swag and fit of apparel is as essential as knowing the latest exercises and dietary supplements. But Björn Borg, with its heritage from sport, knows that although the clothes are essential it’s the psychology of how you feel that’s even more important.

These people have a separate goal than just trying to win, so SMG wanted to make Björn Borg sportswear stand for something else besides coming out on top and created the idea of “party training.”

Working out requires people to have free time which can also be spent enjoying oneself as well. Essentially, “Should I train or should I party?” It created true value and empowered them to do both.

Execution

What You’re Really Training For: To Party

The agency teamed up with online party and training enthusiast Ron Allen to create the world's first Party Trainer. It wanted people to realise that their real motivation for training is to look good when you go out to have fun with others.

To show its new sportswear collection in a cool way across all markets, SMG made the Björn Borg Tumblr page the hub for Party Training. It created a series of instructional videos of Ron Allen instructing people in how to Party Train — dressed in Björn Borg sportswear, of course. Tumblr even helped to re-skin the page and loved the design so much that the brand was able to editorially promote its videos on its home page.

With Björn Borg’s devoted fans ready and willing to spread the message, SMG created a way to let them create gifs of their Party Training by using LoopCam. This smart phone application captures and makes moveable images allowed fans to share their personal Party Training routine with one click to the Party Training hub. The reward? A chance to win a Party Training for a full year and a collection of the new Björn Borg sportswear.

Results

Under assault from the Goliaths of the sportswear industry, Björn Borg proved that Party Training was the way to go, with sales skyrocketing over 25% internationally.

Virally, it generated over 2.5 million views of the instructional videos and over 60,000 unique visitors to the Party Training tumblr page.

The Party Training moves have been shared more than 40,000 times on Tumblr. And, it received enormous press coverage, equal to €350,000 ($479,000) in its target communities (fitness, fashion, gay, students).

Most importantly, people are having more fun combining partying and training.

BRAND:

Björn Borg

CATEGORIES:

Accessories/Clothing/Footwear

Sport/Leisure

REGION:

Europe

DATE:

October - December 2012

AGENCY:

Starcom Mediavest

MEDIA CHANNEL:

Digital,Online

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011

We are young, small yet confident, determent and competent.. This is what the young boy symbolized in an epic ad 

One more thing, sport will be always a tool of making peace and uniting nations.

I am a big fan of Qatar brand and if other nations learn from how the this brand is managed, I believe the term third world will be obsolete.

World Cup Advertising.

There's only one event that displays more advertising clout than the Super Bowl and that's the World Cup. And the cool thing about the world cup is that—well, it includes the world—so we get an international peek into the industry and culture surrounding the sport of futbol, football, soccer or whatever you call it. Graphicology will be looking out for the best, worst, and most interesting work this year and posting them below. 


1. Adidas |Star Wars Cantina.
Snoop Dog. Daft Punk. Noel Gallagher. David Beckham. Actor Jay Baruchel. Agency, Sid Lee, of Amsterdam pulled out all the punches for this spot in a remake of the famous Star Wars Episode IV cantina scene. It's hard not to watch all two minutes of it and is one of the few longer format ads that still feels too short. A really fun idea. The only small issue I have with it is the emphasis on originality with the Adidas tagline, given the somewhat unoriginal remake. But I'm being picky here. It's enjoyable and just what we'd want from a Super Bowl spot: celebrity, pop-culture references, humor and a tie-in into the event ala Mr. Bend-it.


2. Nike | Write The Future.
This piece has already got a ton of press. And it seems like everybody loves this spot. One thing I'll say is this: It's a ride of a spot. It takes you with it, which is a huge compliment to the Wieden and Kennedy folks. I was talking to a friend about this short film and what struck them (and I think this is a very astute comment) is that it's obvious in a day when ad and ad production budgets are being slashed, who has the money to spend. This was one expensive spot to pull off and that really sticks out just as much as the concept does. Maybe more so. (And let's be clear, the concept is solid but not ground-breaking. It is helped a lot by the tagline and positioning too.) All that being said, it's another fun one to sit back and watch. I do wonder how they'll make the shorter format ads work, as I think the sum is greater than the parts.


3. Pepsi | Oh Africa.
I guess that whole we're-not-really-advertising-anymore approach is already gone out the window. Pepsi pulls a few football stars together in ridiculously stupid-looking Pepsi shirts and challenge a few african kids to a game, where the pitch is formed by all the locals who of course try to make it more difficult on the star players. Honestly, there are a few nice moments but this spot feels like it was produced in a third world country. It's production value and art direction falls flat, which is a shame b/c the concept of the pitch being made up of people was rather well thought out. It tries to be epic, featuring the Oh Africa song by Akon and just comes up a bit short.


4. Mars Bar | For England.
Those rascals at Mars are rooting for England? I'm pretty sure Mars is an American company, right? It sure is tough for multi-nationals to appeal to a local market in the digital age when people all around the world can see the ad on YouTube. I'm sure the loyal US soccer contingent will boycott Mars brand candy bars throughout the World Cup as a result of this post. What? There is no loyal US soccer contingent? Oh, you're right. Nevermind. Anyway, this spot is pretty bad and features England footballer John Barnes rapping a stupid song which apparently is a resurrection of his rap that was once popular back in 1990. And you guessed it, everybody joins in singing. I get the sense that there will be a lot of instances where the whole world comes together in advertising to sing something in harmony. Too bad it only happens in commercials and because that's true this also feels like a European ad that is somehow below industry standards.


5. Visa| Run to the Game
Here's a little concept that I like. It's simple. Interesting to pull off. And like the Nike and Adidas spot is fun to watch. It features an overweight guy who gets excited by a goal and decides to run to South Africa where the World Cup is being played. He grabs his Visa card and uses it all along the journey and in doing so, he becomes extremely fit, athletic and in shape enough to run out onto the field and score a goal himself. It's a rather ingenious way to work in the client's benefit while being cinematic enough for such an event. Agency Saatchi & Saatchi, London is responsible for this effort. Well-done guys and gals.


6. Powerade | Inner Thoughts
Powerade is doing something rather interesting. Instead of releasing one or two spots for the games, they are releasing 16 inner thoughts that you have to find within the timeline of a never-ending game. It's not difficult to 'find' them and I wish the search played a bigger part of the concept. Each inner thought is a take on a player's mindset as well as the product benefits during athletic events. Each has a different storytelling style and are worth checking out. You can't embed the video here, so just click on the still below to take you to their YouTube channel.


7. Coca-Cola | History of Celebration
Perhaps the spot that connects with the actual game the most so far, Coke's History of Celebration does just that, takes the viewer through goal-scoring dances throughout the last few decades. It lacks an importance that some of the other spots have, but the spot features some pretty funny choreography that would make the touch=down performances in the NFL seem like elementary school theater. (Ol' Ocho Cinco would do well in FIFA.) I think the voice-over is redone depending on where the spot is airing and it's fun to compare the different reads. Below is the British version, I believe, followed by a better quality German VO.





8-GOOGLE Promo Spot for 2010 World Cup | Search story - get ready for south africa
Great promo spot by Google, another of The Google Search Story videos, this time for the FIFA 2010 World Cup - Get Ready For South Africa.



Credits:
Client: Google
Agency: Google Creative Lab (In-House)
Tagline: Search On.
Prod Company: 1st Ave Machine
Director: Aaron Duffy
EP(s): Serge Patzak, Sam Penfield
Producer(s): John Burger, Crystal Campbell
Head of Creative Development: Claire Mitchell
Concept Art: Carlos Ancalmo
AE Artists: Joon Park, John Stanch, John Loughlin, Will Decker, Anthony Serriano, WeiTo Chow
EP: Alan Zahn
Composer: Jeremy Turner
Sound Design: Analogue Muse
Sound Designer(s): Geoff Strasser, Nick Cipriano
Producers: Alan Zahn, Jeremy Turner
Audio Post: Muse Mix
Mixer: Nick Cipriano


9- Hyundai |Giant vuvuzela

For a little plastic horn, the vuvuzela sure stirs up a lot of passion. Some have called for banning it from the World Cup because, in great numbers, it creates deafening noise in packed stadiums. Right or wrong, it's become synonymous with soccer in South Africa. Pereira O'Dell wants to help fans toot their own vuvuzelas with a new iPhone app. The Pocket Vuvuzela lets you blare four different virtual vuvuzela sounds in support of your team by shaking the app or tapping an on-screen soccer ball. If you're looking for something a little bigger and less virtual, you'll have to travel to Cape Town, where Hyundai has built a 114-foot-long vuvuzela and mounted it on top of a building. Check out the test blow below.





10- Nationwide| 'Little Britain' - Capello
Campaign: Nationwide highlights its sponsorship of England's World Cup team by recruiting some colorful characters from the hit TV series Little Britain to put a little laugh next to the brand. Funny.


11-IRN-BRU|A Bruzil Lullaby

Campaign: Brazen Scottish beverage brand brews a funny World Cup campaign dubbed "Bruzil." The lullaby theme (above) is complimented by a more energetic "Ya Beauty"pregnancy test version. The concept: Scotland hasn't been a World Cup contender in years, so let's get Brazil to breed the next team Scotland! Inexplicably compelling.

12-SureMen|Rube Goldberg machine

Campaign: Wow. SureMen goes a totally different direction by constructing a complexRube Goldberg machine replete with World Cup thematic elements. 

13- Carlsberg |Team Talk
 
Campaign: The lager brand goes for the heart with its 2010 "Team Talk" campaign, a stirring call to all England fans. Sprinkled with historical elements and paced to a rising finish.


14-Kit Kat| 'Cross Your Fingers'





Campaign: The Nestlé-owned chocolate finger brand is facing censure in the UK following a cry of "foul!" by rival Mars, an FA sponsor this World Cup season, for this campaign. Kit Kat goes the sincere route, asking England fans to "cross your fingers." 


15-Louis Vuitton |Zidane Pele Maradona





Campaign: Soccer (sorry: football) legends Zidane, Maradona and Pelé, as captured by American photog Annie Leibovitz for the 2010 World Cup trophy-case maker. What else is there to say? Pelé! It's a header summit!


16- MTV|SPOOKY



17-Nandos| "Take your tops off… for our visitors."



18-Wimpy|National breakfast





19- Argentine Sports Channel TyC|Argentinos

Cultural differences of each country, especially in football.
It is known that Brazilians love to hate the Argentines and Argentine hate to love the Brazilians.More than that, however, the Argentines have a vision of themselves that does not match the one the world have them.


Agency: Young & Rubicam, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Executive Creative Director: Martín Mercado
Creative Directors: Diego Tuya & Darío Rial
Photographer: Rolo Pulpeiro
Music: Kronos Quartet
Aired: March 2010


20-Budweiser | "Kick"



In 2006 Budweiser experienced the unfortunate insult of being boycotted by the host country's fans. So what has the brand done for 2010? Girls! Frat boy humor! Oh Bud, please never change. By July you will come to loathe this ad


21- MCDONALD'S|World's Cup





22-Castrol Magnatec|2010 FIFA World Cup



23-Sony BRAVIA|Superstar





Imagine reliving the greatest games - Sony provides several different entries, including a humorous retail-specific ad and a broader "Feel What They Feel" brand messaging bit. But both pale in comparison to the unexpectedly moving spot featuring children (above). While the Sony brand isn't explicitly tied into the theme, the ad perfectly captures the true fun of the sport and takes you back to when you dreamed you might someday yourself play in the Cup. Of FIFA


24- Hyundai|World Cup Pre- launching





25-Bebe |World Cup



26-Danoninho - Copa do Mundo

27- Guardian and Observer's World Cup 2010 




They are running a television and print advertising campaign to promote their World Cup guides, wall-charts, match day programmes,
The campaign pivots the striker who scored a goal with his bum (haha), and Guardian campaign centers around the hype created by that goal.
Guardian is also showing its strong web presence through its updates
Credits
Advertising agency: Wieden+Kennedy
Creative team: Ben Terrett, Rob Burleigh and David Stevens
Agency producer: Gill Oglethrope.
Animation: Peppermelon, Buenos Aires
Director/editor: Tomas Garcia
28- Adidas: Jabulani Outdoor









Advertising Agency: Lew’Lara/TBWA, San Paulo, Brazil
Executive Creative Director: Jaques Lewcowicz, André Laurentino, Felipe Luchi, Manir Fadel
Copywriter / Art Director: Marcos Almirante, Marcelo Rizério
Account manager: Márcio Oliveira, Ricardo Forli, Guilherme Bernardes, Felipe Oliveira, Thibis Rebellato, Camilla Gouvea