What’s more global than Christmas? Football. But what never happens during Christmas? The world cup. Except for this year. The Fifa World Cup 2022 has given people everywhere something to talk about, regardless of whether they were into football or not. This global event has been the perfect opportunity for countless advertisers everywhere, making sure they take advantage of the visibility and reach of the games. As such, normally brands fight tooth and nail to have a good spot among the World Cup advertisers. But this year, between the controversy surrounding the Qatar cup and the necessity for it to be hosted in Winter, and therefore close to Christmas due to Qatar’s summer soaring temperatures, many World Cup advertisers pulled out. Generally speaking, businesses everywhere aren’t really living the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 the way they did previous editions.
Certain types of businesses might benefit from this World Cup in ways they might not have in the past and vice-versa. It’s clear that places with nice terraces and beer-gardens might not consider this year’s World Cup to be as profitable as it usually is when thirsty, riled-up customers fill the outdoor spaces to the brim to cheer their team on. Supermarkets on the other hand might have seen an increase in the sales of snacks and drinks as people chose to gather in the comfort and heat of their homes to watch the games. Clothing brands that usually would have taken this opportunity to mass produce national t-shirts have opted not to, focusing on the Christmas season ahead.
However, not all hope is lost. Some companies have taken all of this information and rolled with it in their adverts! There may be fewer World Cup advertisers this year, but the ones that showed up, showed up guns a blazing! Addressing the obvious changes head-on, so as to sympathise with consumer audiences.
Nike knocked the ball out of the park, the sky, and the universe
Nike did an amazing job at making its audience completely forget there was ever any controversy with the Qatar World Cup 2022, to begin with. How? By telling an amazing story. This isn’t just an advert, it’s a cinematic short film.
The storytelling and technology of this film are some of the greatest in history. It is relevant, stunning, and engaging and keeps your eyes glued to the screen. A beyond brilliant way of bringing the past and the present together.
Do yourself a favour and watch it if you haven’t already.
Adidas gets the family back together
Literally. Their short film called ‘Family Reunion’ gathers a (football)star studded cast. From Lionel Messi to Karim Benzema, Son Heung-min and Serge Gnabry, the ad features musician Stormzy as its narrator and driver of the family reunion bus.
Now this ad in itself is pretty great, but probably the most notable thing is the kind nod they give to Messi. The Argentinian football icon appears playing table football with his younger self. If we remember correctly Messi played his first World Cup in 2006 and the title has eluded him ever since. This year will be his last chance, and it’s looking quite good so far.
ALDI addressed the situation head on
Everything about this advert is a resounding yes. From instantly siding with the consumer and voicing the doubts echoed by football fans this year, to the clever representation of football players through vegetables, the quick puns such as the ‘FAST FOOD’ shot, to the Easter egg for millennial and boomer audiences… “Where’s Kevin?!?”. Such a neat touch, truly a brilliant nod to the 1998 Nike World Cup advert featuring “Kevin The Carrot” and a canny way of integrating one of our favourite Christmas classics into the mix.
Coca-Cola, as always, is all in
Now Coca-Cola has gone all in with their FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign. It’s not entirely surprising given that we are possibly talking about one of the most global products/companies in existence combined with one of the most global events on the planet.
The global drinks mogul launched a campaign on all fronts:
- The usual heartfelt, hope-inducing advertisement.
- A multicultural musical anthem that features a reimagined and updated classic.
- An NFT collection inspired by the very Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup that shows heat maps of your favourite player’s movements.
- Special edition cans with each nation’s flag
- The development of 100% recyclable bottles to be distributed in all Qatar venues.
- Several short films whose premise revolve around fans’ experiences with “If we win I will….”.
- The list goes on and on… But you get the drift.
We’re particularly drawn to the short films related to fans’ experiences. Quick, witty, and relatable. The anthem on the other hand, despite having all the ingredients to be a smashing hit doesn’t seem to have hit as hard as previous editions.
Cris-sal pulled a reverse-UNO card
Now this one’s a fun one, perhaps our favourite Fifa World Cup advertising campaign simple for imaginative it is. Cris-sal is an Ecuadorian salt brand, and technically they are doing a reverse campaign? Which they call, ‘Unlucky Sponsor campaign’.
You see, in South America salt is considered unlucky, and so the Ecuadorian football team officially let Cris-sal know that they couldn’t possibly accept their sponsorship due to the negative connotations. So, what did Cris-sal do? They decided to sponsor each of the rival teams that played Ecuador during the qualifying tournaments. Meaning in Lima, Peru, they set up advertisements wishing Peru good luck. In essence, throwing salt at them and therefore, bad luck during the game.
Just absolutely fantastic to be honest, it’s creative, cunning, and the best way to take an unfortunate situation and turn it around in your favour.
Quilmes: The connection between FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the 1986 World Cup
Argentina is a nation globally known for its football fanatism. It’s THE national sport by excellence, and its following is so incredibly fervent that opposing fans cannot attend the same game. It’s actually a necessary safety measure. Last World Cup they made it far but the last time they won was in 1986.
Quilmes, a popular Argentinian beer brand released an advert where Argentinian football fans try to draw coincidences out of any minimal thing between the Fifa World Cup 2022 and 1986 one. From the moon being in Pisces, to the time a game was played, to the weather forecast. Guess believing in seeing!
