Blog post #1

As the world’s most popular sporting event, the world cup should be a dream for large cap companies, willing to dish out a fortune for advertising rights. Sportsware giants especially, like Nike and Adidas, were able to take advantage of the this huge spectacle to promote their names and products. One example of successful marketing during the world cup was the sponsorship of Italy by Puma, which was a cause for the increase in sales following Italy’s victory at the world cup in 2006. As Puma is a relatively smaller company compared to Nike and Adidas, their successful sponsorship of Italy increased awareness of their brand following Italy’s win and affected people’s perception of their brand by associating with the winner.

In this post I will look at the Nike video which was posted on youtube, as well as playing on TV channels around the world.

Personally, as a huge soccer fan, I found this advert very successful as I appreciated the grand nature of the video and its usage of several sponsored players.  It manages to capture the significance of the event, firstly for the citizens of the participating nations around the world, and secondly for the players themselves. If they played well, they are assured a place in history. The music captures this atmosphere, whilst flash-forwards show a glimpse of what the future could be for each player if they play well. Subtle placements of Nike signs around the stadiums, shirts and other sponsored athletes (for example Federer) help the viewer associate Nike with success in the world cup. This is an example of an attempt to change the affective component of the viewers attitudes. An interesting feature of the ad is its attempt to integrate American culture within the context of the video, firstly with Kobe emulating Ronaldinho’s move, and then Ronaldo as a Simpsons character. Whilst soccer is the most popular sport around the world, it has not yet fully penetrated the American market, and this can be seen as an attempt to familiarize consumers with the sport, and subsequently Nike’s place in it.