By Mike Constanti

This series, in partnership with Snack Media, will look at the best football campaigns from advertising to social media on a monthly basis, as Digital Sport evaluates how the biggest names in business are using their partnerships in football to create stand-out content. 

Football is relentless & fans are consumed by it all the time, whether it be via the TV or scrolling through social media. What with the persistent nature of the sport, how do brands find a way to stand out from the crowd and deliver a content campaign more memorable and effective than the hundreds it competes with on a daily basis?

Here are 5 stand out pieces from the month of February.

Adidas: Rent-a-Pred

Adidas continue to break barriers for their new Rent-a-Pred campaign. They have created a series of videos based around 5-a-side football teams in London who need another player before their game. They have taken the idea from a common issue in local football matches with players usually dropping out of a match just before its due to start. The series is hosted by Specs Gonzales who is famous for his comedic views on football, and features global football superstars such as Kaka, F2 Freestylers and Eni Aluko. Kaka was called into action for a 7-a-side football match in Hackney as he showed us that he still has it.

Not only is this campaign incredibly memorable for the story it tells and the personnel used to tell it, but it also proved to be a viral sensation as Kaka was filmed scoring a wonder-goal in the 7-a-side game, with many unsure as to quite why the Brazilian star was seen playing in what seemed a very generic local London game in the park.

London called, we answered.

This was Rent-a-Pred.
100% Unfair. #Predator pic.twitter.com/vztmVWR2S2

— adidas UK (@adidasUK) February 11, 2020

Along with their promotional videos, an Instagram post was shared with a Rent-a-Pred hotline, where lucky players had the chance to play with Predator athletes.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Has a team-mate let you down? WhatsApp to 07444 081 752 now and we’ll send you one of London’s best ballers in their place.⁣ ⁣ Seems unfair? Rent-a-Pred is unfair. % .⁣ ⁣ Ft. @street_panna @lizzywade93 @helgz_noentry @richaelio @adz1307 @c._dom @shameek_ldn @timpitman93 @smumtaz14 @inspectormoorse @londonmadejon @leestobbs @mattysveryown⁣ ⁣ –: , .⁣ ⁣ #Predator⁣ #adidasFootball⁣ #London

A post shared by adidas London (@adidaslondon) on Feb 4, 2020 at 12:13am PST

This campaign was a brilliant way of showcasing their brand-new Predator 20 football boot by suggesting that footballers who wear these new boots will turn in to a superstar on the pitch. This is reinforced with their strapline “100% Unfair”.

Pepsi: Play Never Stops (Originally Spanish Ad)

Pepsi are known for their unique adverts which usually feature some of the world’s best footballers. This time we head to an event where Messi, Salah, Pogba and Sterling are caught fighting over the last can of Pepsi whilst exhibiting their ball skills. The advert was originally shared on Pepsi’s original YouTube channel, but with a Spanish title and video description, most likely to appeal to different audiences.

Despite this, there is no voiceover or speech during the advert, and only includes a Spanish upbeat soundtrack. A shorter 30-second edit was produced with an English title and description, along with the social media hashtag #THATSWHATILIKE.

Nothing grabs the attention of a viewer like seeing famous celebrity faces, especially when they’re doing something different or unusual. It would have been an expensive advert to run, but it’s certainly brilliant promotion for Pepsi as it engages football fans around the world. The lack of dialogue and language made this a truly global advert.

Check out the vid below to see who prevails as winner of the final can!

Deliveroo: The England team’s favourite food delivery

Deliveroo have teamed up with the England team as squad members of the men’s and women’s team received their favourite takeaway from the famous delivery company. The 30 second video shows wild celebrations of players receiving their delivery, as if they have just scored a winning goal.

It follows the same theme throughout until the delivery driver gets to Harry Maguire’s house, who simply opens the door and accepts his food like an ordinary person. This resonates with fans who associate the United centre back with being a “fairly standard” guy. The YouTube video has almost 130 thousand views, and taps into the recent hype around both England’s men and women’s teams after successful World Cup campaigns in recent years. 

With the Euros coming soon, Deliveroo are letting fans know they’re available to serve throughout what’s set to be another summer in front of the TVs.

Cadbury FC & Panini’s Premier League Legends 

Cadbury are working with Panini to incentivise Premier League fans to buy their chocolate products. Five Premier League legends are at the forefront of this campaign; Jamie Redknapp, Michael Owen, Ian Wright, Gary Neville, and Shay Given.

You can find out if you’re a winner in two easy steps; first the consumer needs to buy any participating Cadbury product. Then if a Panini shiny sticker is found inside the chocolate wrapper, you have won the chance to receive Premier League match tickets, a Panini hardback album and Panini stickers!

If you didn’t manager to find a Shiny sticker in your wrapper, you could still be a winner if you scan your product and upload it to their site, and from here thousands of other prizes are up for grabs. This campaign appeals to a younger audience who love to collect sticker albums, and shows the good work of a great partnership between the two brands who look strengthen their relationship with the Premier League.

Premier League x Heads Up x Sky Sports

February saw the Premier League, Heads Up & Sky Sports work together in support of mental health, specifically in football. The campaign is led by The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, as he joins five British football stars including Watford captain, Troy Deeney. A four-minute video shows them playing a game of Jenga whilst opening up about mental health stories personal to them.

The message of the campaign is in the hashtag ‘#kickoffaconversation’, and the mental health organisation have teamed up with many Premier League clubs by displaying their branding across ‘stadiums, programmes and kits. This is a great way for their message to be seen all around the world as the Premier League is broadcasted globally.

We hope you enjoyed our top 5 list of February! Let us know your favourites in the comments below!

This article was sponsored by Snack Media, which is a leading independent sports digital media company with over 30m sports fans. They specialise in multi-channel content creation, distributed at scale. Through data driven engagement strategies Snack Media creates authentic connections between brands & fans. To find out how Snack Media can connect your brand with 30m sports fans, contact rupert@snack-media.com.