GLOBAL – Spain’s first ever World Cup win over Netherlands Sunday, with an expected worldwide audience of 700 million, was an advertising gold mine for sports channels worldwide. But the real battle for hearts and minds began months ago, early in the year for some who believe in early starts.
When NM Incite, a Nielsen company, released its figures on the share of official and competitor buzz from May 7 to June 6, it seemed that the brands not affiliated with FIFA could do better than the official sponsors and partners. Nike’s "Write the Future" had the makings of the perfect ambush marketing vehicle: a strong viral spot with a global cast and a big budget.
Nike led the field at 30.2% share of global online buzz versus its rival adidas, which came in second at 14.4%. The rest of the top 10 brands were Coca-Cola, Sony, Visa, Carlsberg, McDonald’s, Pepsi, Hyundai/Kia, Panasonic. Carlsberg, also a non-affiliated competitor beat out Budweiser with an all-star cast "Team Talk" for England. Pepsi’s "Oh Africa" with Akon didn’t eclipse Coca-Cola’s remix of the World Cup anthem "Wavin’ Flag".
By June 11 to 25, adidas had claimed the top spot and Budweiser edged out Carlsberg. Nike, Coca-Cola, Sony, Budweiser, Hyundai/Kia, Visa, McDonald’s, Pepsi and Carlsberg occupied spots two to ten.
Until the final stats come in, the score holds: Sponsors 7, Competitors 3.
On the local front, three brands ran football-related commercials during the finals: Castrol, Rexona and Visa. No material from this basketball-loving country.
Sponsor
No more Nike ad curses to break, fans trying to grab the World Cup trophy, football-related Google doodles, bookie octopus picking the winner (but of course we’ll se Paul again). The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is over and it’s unlikely we’ll see football loom so large on our screens until 2014. Thank goodness for YouTube so we can enjoy the madness over and over again.
