PHILIPPINES, JULY 4, 2011 – Fresh from their 4-0 victory yesterday against Sri Lanka, the Philippine Azkals men’s national football team were on the ball early, with top brands Bench, Silver Swan, and Cortal SQR picking up on the new trend of turning the emerging sports icons and sex symbols into real, breathing, product endorsers as early as June.
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It’s easy to see that there’s a new breed of sportsmen in town. Staying true to its sexy underwear campaign, Bench Body employs Azkals team captain Aly Borromeo for its underwear billboard on EDSA-Rockwell. As if that wasn’t enough, the brand adds a kick to the homegrown rugby team Philippine Volcanoes’ popularity as it showcases the players sans shirt –and pants—at the famous Guadalupe Billboards in Makati. The billboards, which seem to be a call for support, will also come with a Philippine Volcanoes calendar that can be availed of with every Bench Body purchase. A behind-the-scenes footage has also been released online and made the rounds on Facebook last week.
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While relatively new to the public eye, the Volcanoes definitely caught attention as evidenced by countless tweets and Facebook posts centered on the Guadalupe billboards. Reactions have been mostly positive, with a recent adobo magazine Facebook poll showing that more people gave it a thumbs up, than those who found it too hot to handle. Both TBWA Santiago Mangada Puno and Blue Bottle, current and recent agencies of Bench, denied involvement in the said ads.
Azkals players appeared in two new TV commercials. The first one is for pain reliever Cortal SQR featuring goalkeeper Neil Etheridge in a spot directed by Adrian Calumpang. The rebranding campaign, according to Campaigns & Grey PR, aims to create preference amongst sufferers of different types of body pain on account of its faster-acting Ibuprofen-and-Paracetamol formula.”It’s a slice of life thing, what they do and experience when they’re in the game,” says account manager Hannah Diaz, further stating that any sex appeal exuded by the ad was totally unintentional. A hotly-contested account, Cortal SQR underwent a three-way pitch between Campaigns & Grey, Black Pencil/Leo Burnett, and Seven A.D. Campaigns & Grey’s sister business unit Neuron is the creative agency responsible for the ad, as well as its print components.
The Philippine Azkals took on yet another classic product. The Silver Swan Soy Sauce TVC showcased the team chowing down roasted Filipino specialties, as they joked around about “ewe” (chicken’s ass). Arguably the most popular Azkal, Phil Younghusband was front and center of the ad, complete with disarming smile, and mangled Tagalog. His brother James holds his own in the Silver Swan Vinegar commercial with Winnie Cordero by displaying that his football moves translate well to the kitchen setting.
With wins on the regional sports scene, these young men will definitely see more facetime on TV as well as appearances in print and online.
