The football’s on; get in!
With the Euros well under way and England being thoroughly frustrating, as ever, we decided to sift through the mountain of marketing campaigns that have been rolled out in recent weeks and find the best.
On the pitch things may be serious but off it, it seems that humour is the key theme this year. Marketers are showing off their jovial side whilst using the stars of European football as their center piece.
Below are 6 of the best ad campaigns we think deserve their own football chant…
Paddy Power #ViveLeBantz
Known for their irreverent take on sport, Paddy Power hasn’t disappointed this year by turning the spotlight on the only home nation that didn’t make the trip to France.
The advert, created by Lucky Generals, features a host of Scottish celebs acting quintessentially Scottish in the Highlands.
Ironically, the advert, the first in a series entitled #ViveLeBantz, is set to the iconic Vindaloo track by Fat Les – a song recorded for England during the 1988 World Cup.
Lucky Generals co-founder Andy Nairn said as a Scot himself it’s “nice to have something to cheer about this tournament.”
“This puts me right in the mood for some deep-fried chocolate and a cheeky wee bet on Russia” he added.
We particularly like the way Paddy Power have focused on Scotland and played on the rivalry between the Jocks and the English in good spirits.
Measuring the success depends upon what angle you’re looking at – Paddy Power are known for guerrilla style marketing stunts such as parking a lorry outside the Russian embassy. This current ad campaign is no different – it’s attracted some negative publicity with some asking, is it offensive to Scots?
However Paddy Power thrive off this and like they say, bad publicity is good publicity. The use of this mischievous type of branding is being used in order to reach their target audience. #ViveLeBantz positions Paddy Power as a trusted brand and sort of like a mate you’d want to have a pint with.
Mars #Believe
The confectionery behemoth have decided to recreate their own D-Day landings, admittedly this one is rather less violent and awful. Focused exclusively on England it features three of our own lions – the now injured Danny Welbeck, Premier League top scorer Jamie Vardy and the nation’s new hero*, Harry Kane. *subject to performance
The scale of the £4.1 million pound campaign is pretty jaw dropping with Mars changing the branding on their packaging to feature the campaign hashtag #Believe, an alignment with their optimism about the 3 Lions’ chances this Summer.
Mars will be challenging the public to submit ‘singing selfies’, filming themselves as they sing the lyrics to an England song and sharing this online using the campaign hashtag, #Believe.
Using Twitter to push both their products and campaign of optimism, the potential audience of 15.3 million UK football fans predicted to be on the social media platform at any one time during a game is a sure fire way to maximise the reach.
A spokesman from Mars said: “Our new #Believe campaign is all about tapping into the excitement and buzz of the biggest football tournament of the year.
We have a partnership with The FA, but the spirit of the #Believe campaign extends beyond that, to Wales and across the home nations, to encourage fans to get behind their country and show that they #Believe they have what it takes to do well.”
Carlsberg #IfCarlsbergDidSubstitutions
Carlsberg have gone all out this year in making sure they use the Euro message to advertise their product.
But, as ever, Carlsberg are more than just a bottle of lager.
The advert features Joe Bloggs displaying true patriotism, but there’s a twist. Rather than conveying the usual British pessimism, it’s been substituted for optimism and hope.
This led to more hilarity from Carlsberg, such as dressing Chris Kamara up as an old man
and handing out free ticket to the Euros for those who offered their seat on the tube.
These fan focused videos are to be expected, following Carlsberg’s promise for the tournament that they will “do it better for the fans”.
The beer giants have unleashed their true personality and are doing their best to spread a good deal of optimism. Ryan Newey, the founder and chief creative officer at Fold7, the company that created the ad, said: “When it comes to tournaments there is no shortage of pessimism in this country.
The campaign continues Carlsberg’s role as ‘the great motivator’ as games are not just won on the pitch, they’re won in the pub.”
Known for their effective and popular marketing, Carlsberg are using their infamous ‘If Carlsberg did…’ as a way of giving fans an experience fitting of a European championship. With a mix of video content, experiential marketing and an assured, humorous use of Twitter Carlsberg have managed to avoid the cringe-inducing mess that other brands have found themselves in when trying to bring comedy to the marketing game.
In short, Carlsberg are at the forefront of pioneering digital marketing, producing content that the entire nation come to know and love, whether you’re a lager drinker or not. The popularity of their ‘If Carlsberg Did…’ campaign has seen it transform into a national meme, whilst their more aforementioned elaborate stunts blur the boundaries between offline and online integration.
An expensive approach? Think again. Dharmesh Rana, senior brand manager, Carlsberg UK said: “Last year for April Fools’ Day, Carlsberg said it would be delivering beers around the country by drones. It cost us £5,000 all in, but generated over £130,000 of free media.”
Orange #OrangeSponsersYou
Easily the coolest ad campaign we’ve seen so far. It stars Zinedine Zidane (looking effortlessly suave in a suit, obviously) as Le Boss, ordering an unwilling assistant out on a globe trotting mission to find the creme de la creme of football supporters to fill the French stadiums.
The ad is part of a wider campaign by Orange, official partners of Euro 2016, to incentivise fan engagement. Orange are offering fans the chance to dress the Eiffel Tower up in their country’s colours at the end of matches.
Throughout the tournament Orange will analyse Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, monitoring the number of posts that contain hashtags supporting a particular country, e.g. #Fra for France or #Spa for Spain.
Orange intend to reward individuals too by employing a dedicated team of photographers to sniff out the most passionate fan and get their beaming, patriotic face on the big screens that surround the stadiums.
And as if they couldn’t do anymore, Orange will be announcing a Fan of the Match after every game by shining a literal spotlight on them. We’re not sure how Ronaldo will feel having the attention deflected from his permatanned, glossy (beautiful) face… Sorry, I
digress.
Beatrice Mandine, senior executive vice president for brand and communications at Orange, said: “We’re not just putting the fans in the spotlight, we’re giving fans the opportunity to decide how Paris and the Eiffel Tower will participate in celebrating UEFA EURO 2016.”
We love that Orange are empowering fans and creating an immersive marketing campaign that targets Europe as a whole, signifying solidarity and collaborative communication across nations.
Betfred #BePartOfTheAction
Betfred have used this summer’s tournament to unveil their own version of Siri, kind of. Basically, you can ask the Betfred app what games are worth betting on and it will tell you what’s hot – pretty nifty, right? Although personally, we think the hashtag #BetfredSaid is better. (Sorry – that’s our intellectual property now.)
The app will be available on both iOS and Android. Prioritising mobile technology as their core platform reinforces the growing trend of mobile marketing, proving that brands must develop strategies that are mobile centric.
Jumping on the bandwagon of celebrity endorsements, former full back Stuart ‘Psycho’ Pearce is the face of this digital campaign in an advert that has certainly tickled a few funny bones.
But jokes aside, they’re taking their marketing seriously, in a bold move whereby Betfred have promised to refund all bets on England to win the tournament if the boys are knocked out by the dreaded penalty shootout.
Gemma Strath, head of marketing at Betfred admitted that “we could face a huge payout… but we wanted to stand out and do something different. Our media spend is different from our rivals and not nearly as high so we have to be disruptive to stand out.”
It’s hoped that taking this risk will deliver on returns for Betfred as they have created a relevant product that aligns with digital movements in a highly competitive market.
Nike #SparkBrilliance
We couldn’t have an ad campaign roundup without mentioning the biggest name in this business, could we?
In true Nike style, the sports brand has pulled the stops out creating a mini film about a young boys unfortunate run in with the one and only Cristiano Ronaldo.
The result is the football equivalent of ‘Freaky Friday’.
The short video is a classic from the sports giant – full of humour and guest spots from some of the most famous faces in football including Raheem Sterling and Anthony Martial. With a multi-million pound budget at their disposal it’s no surprise to see the level of quality on display.
Here, Nike aren’t selling any one product in particular. Like any other hyper brand they’re selling the brand, the lifestyle, and the can-do attitude.
This ad certainly ‘ticks’ our boxes.