By Mark Baber
June 3 – Official World Cup sponsor Hyundai, who recently extended their deal with FIFA up to 2022 is rolling out advertising campaigns focused largely on brand-loyalty and the passion of fans for football and their cars. So far it has avoided of the major faux-pas of recent campaigns.
For the 2014 World Cup Hyundai are sticking with its Fan Park concept with big screens being set up in Berlin in Germany, Madrid in Spain, Torino in Italy, Sydney in Australia and Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The concept has been extended to an online-Fan Park where fans can post pins with geo-located text messages, videoes and photos.
The official Hyundai World Cup web site also includes an Octopus prediction competition and unity web player shoot and save video style game.
David Matathia, America’s Director of Marketing Communications, commented: “The theme we’re working with is: as loyal and as passionate as fans are about their nation, or about their team, Hyundai owners are about their Hyundais.”
Advertising videos released to date feature Iker Casillas (Real Madrid and Spain), Kaka (AC Milan and Brazil) and Oscar (Chelsea and Brazil) around the theme of a ‘Glorious Journey’. Advertising spots on ESPN and Univision in the USA, focused on the Hispanic market under the “#BecauseFutbol tag, will feature a packed maternity ward, in an unnamed Spanish-speaking country, 9 months after a World Cup triumph; a man intent on avoiding hearing the World Cup match results and a man who uses his daughter’s make-up to put on his “game face.”
In order to counter rival campaigns by the likes of VW, Hyundai plans to use its position as official sponsor to “own half-time” during games. Matathia commented, “They won’t be able to touch the games themselves. With us having the on-site branding as well, we feel we have them fairly well boxed out.”
Hyundai and its in-house agency Innocean were, of course, responsible for the 2013 “Suicide ad”, which focused on a man attempting to commit suicide, but failing in the attempt as the exhaust fumes from his Hyundai were 100% water vapour. After many complaints the ad was withdrawn and apologies made.
Far less offensive, but nevertheless embarrassing, was the Euro 2013 flash mob video featuring an attempt variously described as a communist-style fake atmosphere-creating exercise or capitalist-style propaganda event. Unsurprisingly the company’s “taking football forward” hashtag was quickly met with #takingfootballbackward and #destroyingfootball.
One certainly has to hope that these kind of errors aren’t repeated as Hyundai partners with YouTube channel Copa 90 to present itself, in the words of UK Marketing Director, Andrew Cullis, as a “more progressive and creative brand.”
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