Are you a football fan? You know, the game where you place an inflatable ball on the ground, kick it around on a field and boot it (or perhaps head butt it) into a netted goal? What do you mean this doesn’t sound like football?
While we Americans like to identify “football” with “American football,”most of the world spends its time paying attention to “real football” (what we Americans call soccer), and hence, the World Cup. This fact isn’t lost on international sporting goods companies either. Take Adidas and Nike, for instance, who are in fierce competition to capture the hearts and minds of football fans the world over. Naturally, they both want to sell shoes, and as noted on Marketing Vox today:
Adidas may be an official sponsor of the World Cup – providing the ball, dressing the referees and plastering its branding across the 10 stadiums in the competition – but it still has been trumped by a Nike ad called “Write the Future.”
Featuring England player Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, of Portugal, the Nike ad received twice as many mentions on English-speaking blogs, forums and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook than Adidas, its main rival, according to a Nielsen study. Adidas has run its own ad along with its other branding expenditures – however these, which feature David Beckham and Noel Gallagher, from the band Oasis – have not been as well-received.
Admittedly, the Nike ad is pretty darn attractive! But what of that Adidas ad? Have yourself a look below – why do you think Nike’s ad is hammering Adidas’ ad on social networks? I thought Star Wars and David Beckham represented slam dunk advertising! (Oops… wrong sport) 
Nike’s “Write the Future” Ad
Adidas’ “Star Wars Cantina 2010″ Ad
FYI – For those who didn’t recognize some of those faces in the above ad, Adidas featured the likes of David Beckham, Snoop Dogg, Franz Beckenbauer, Daft Punk, Ian Brown, Noel Gallagher, Ciara - and Neil Armstrong
7 Responses
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Judy Evenson Says:
Ya think? Hammering is the word! Like 5 times more hits for Niki’s video if that says anything…. I felt the ENERGY! I might as well have been there! And we all no soccer fans can be… well, nuts (not to insult the soccer fans since I guess that can apply to all fans.
so capturing the emotion of the sport – was way high on my list of “likes” about the Niki ad.
and… oh yeah, the world does go nuts! About 10 years ago, we (Jim and I) were in France and yes, it was the French against… hmm, don’t remember. Anyway, we were in a very swanky hotel that included dinner where the entire wait staff and kitchen help stopped work to see how the game came out. And yep, we were right there cheering with them. I’m telling you folks… this is contagious! And so… maybe that contagious feeling came out in the Niki ad…
and what happened to Harrison Ford? How did he get so old looking when… I didn’t (or… did I?)
what are your thoughts?
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lsmaagaard Says:
I watched the Star Wars ad first. As a big fan of the early Star Wars and Harrison Ford, I did enjoy this ad because of the nostalgia it inspired. I’m glad you listed all the celebrities since some could have been lost in the “crowd” of characters. I watched twice and never spotted Neil Armstrong.
Then I watched the Nike Write the Future ad and was mesmerized by the imagery. The ad has such a global feel and a rapid-fire pace. You can watch this ad over and over and see something new every time.
It would be interesting to discuss both these ads, how they reflect the represented brands and how well these ads appeal to the targeted customer.
All that traveling at light speed and carbon-freezing (check it out on Wookiepedia http://starwars.wikia.com – you have to love that) would cause anyone to age!
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stephenmkelly Says:
They really are two very different ads, aren’t they? Perhaps the Star Wars stuff has just warn off on people in cyberspace. Of course, the same could be said of The Simpsons, and that seems to be working in the Nike ad.
In the end I think I must agree with you Judy – the Nike ad really encapsulates the spirit and energy of the game. The Adidas ad seems like a ploy (i.e. let’s use Star Wars and Snoop Dogg to sell some shoes).
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lsmaagaard Says:
We are working on a re-branding project for a non-profit and discussing getting to the heart of the brand. This got me thinking about the Nike ad. The message and theme of Nike always seems to be inspiring and consistent – even if the focus is two different sports. Other brands that seem in the same league as Nike would be Coke and Apple. The message is consistent, the product is consistent, the packaging is consistent and so on and maybe this is why these brands seem authentic.
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stephenmkelly Says:
Ah ha! “The CC Marketing Program Blog – Forcing people to keep their thinking caps on since 2010″!
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Judy Evenson Says:
What???? I was ready to take off my “thinking cap”! Now I’m inspired all over again…. Two important ideas…. INSPIRING and CONSISTENT! Now, consistent I get but inspiring….. that’s hard to wrap my head around. But maybe that’s at the “heart” of the issue – that inspiring is about “heart stuff” emotion, sensing, authentic. What? Marketers with HEART? How can this be?
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lsmaagaard Says:
It’s interesting but I am seeing more and more companies partnering with social projects. Right now it looks like a trend, but if consumers come to expect this as a value added to the product – we could see more heart in marketing.
