The Christmas ad season might be in full swing, but there is one global event which still has the power to take consumers’ attention away from all the festive marketing – the FIFA World Cup 2022.
When the winter-time football tournament was announced in 2010, the world was taken aback by the proposed timing of the event, which would interrupt club football and fall slap-bang in the middle of the run-up to Christmas. Controversy surrounding Qatar’s human rights record and institutionalised homophobia has also plagued the public’s feelings towards the 28-day event.
“Brands will need to tread a fine line with their advertising during the World Cup,” Integral Ad Science head of programmatic EMEA, Nick Welch, said.
“The opportunity to reach a global audience prior to the holidays cannot be missed, but at the same time, advertising in the wrong environments could be seen as an endorsement of views that many would not consider appropriate. A brand may want to steer clear of any content related to possible LGBTQ+ rights violations.”
SmartFrame Technologies global marketing director, Andy Ashley, also believes that the ‘Golden Quarter’ will be “extra challenging” for marketers this year, with both Christmas and World Cup ads competing for attention.
“Precise contextual targeting will be fundamental to ensure users receive ads that are genuinely relevant to the content they are consuming, and that can differentiate between the two big events, for maximum engagement,” Ashley added.
“The World Cup and Christmas clash shouldn’t mean users are bombarded with double the amount of ads! Quality over quantity should prevail.”
In spite of these views and the damning opinions of many others, the largest brands in the world have not held back from releasing multi-million pound campaigns in the build-up to the tournament.
While some companies have ignored the timing and controversy of the World Cup altogether, others have taken it into their stride and poked fun at the Christmas-crossover in their campaigns.
Here are the six most captivating World Cup campaigns released so far this year.
ITV: ‘It’s coming (to your) home’
ITV has been busy promoting itself as the ideal place to watch the World Cup, creating a promotional film that highlights its history of tournament coverage.
Last year the broadcaster broke records by drawing the largest single channel audience for a game of football, with 27.4 million people tuning in to watch the England VS Denmark semi-final. It will share TV coverage with the BBC for the upcoming tournament, showing 32 live matches from 21 November onwards.
‘It’s coming (to your) home’ – produced by ITV Creative – intends to create a buzz around the tournament and the legendary footballing moments the broadcaster has captured in the past. Created by Alex Dickinson and Joe Kerrigan, and directed by Iconoclast UK’s Glenn Kitson, the ad campaign also features iconic pundits Ian Wright and Eniola Aluko.
Coca-Cola: ‘Believing is Magic’
Two months ago, Coca-Cola unveiled its ‘Believing is Magic’ campaign, praising the sense of community given by supporting your national football team. The brand’s one-minute TV spot, supported by three additional digital films, encourages fans to believe while also celebrating fan superstitions.
Coca-Cola vice president of global sports and entertainment marketing, Brad Ross, said that the campaign is meant to champion the “simple moments of connection” football fans experience when supporting their teams.
The promotion will also include ‘fan-focused’ content once the tournament begins, as well as packaging that will embody ‘team colours and shared promises’.
Budweiser: ‘The World Is Yours To Take’
Beer-brand Budweiser also kicked off its World Cup campaign back in September, debuting its ‘The World Is Yours To Take’ campaign.
Produced by creative agency Wieden+Kennedy, the commercial features the likes of football icons Lionel Messi, Neymar and Raheem Sterling and is set to a remix of the classic Tears for Fears tune, ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’.
Centring around the theme of the football stadium tunnel, the ad explores the tension behind the moments players wait to go out onto the pitch.
The 46-second film, created by Rafael Melo and Renan Molin, and directed by Filfury, Untold Studios, ends with the lines: ‘No matter your tunnel – the world is yours to take’.
Fox Soccer: pokes fun at the World Cup/Christmas clash
Fox Soccer’s campaign, ‘Tis the FIFA World Cup’, pokes fun at the unique timing of the FIFA tournament with a shocked characterisation of Father Christmas.
Mad Men actor Jon Hamm stars as a trendy Santa Claus worried by the prospect of a winter World Cup event. His summer holidays are cut short by the news that the international tournament will take place in the middle of the holiday season.
The Hungry Man Productions ad, directed by Wayne McClammy and created by Steve Lewis, also features the likes of Tom Brady, Mariah Carey and Ellie Kemper.
Pepsi Max: Nutmeg Royale
Pepsi Max’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 campaign sees football icons Leo Messi, Paul Pogba and Ronaldinho taking part in a nutmeg competition against a team of locals.
The action-filled advert, which marks the drink brand’s new tagline ‘Thirsty For More’, is full of tricks, flicks and kicks and sees the public group beat the three stars 13 to 12 in a ‘Nutmeg Royale’.
Set to ‘The Rockafeller Skank’ by Fatboy Slim, the fast-paced spot aims to appeal to all generations of football fans tuning into the international tournament this winter.
Puma: ‘Find your Fearless’ World Cup spot
Puma’s contribution to FIFA World Cup advertisements this year came in the form of the ‘Find your Fearless’ campaign.
The spot not only features FOTs (Football Obsessed Teens) and the ‘Puma Fam,’ but also footballers Neymar Jr, Antoine Griezmann, Kingsley Coman, Memphis Depay, Nikita Parris, Christian Pulisic and Romeo Beckham.
The combination of clips and star appearances are centred around being ‘fearless’ and focuses in on youth culture, fashion, sports and music. From imaginative Neymar sequences to supersized Memphis Depay scenes, the three-minute ad contains various clips sure to appeal to younger generations.
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