BEN ROBINSON

The latest inspirational advert from the challengers to Nike and Adidas’s sporting crowns has left the starting blocks with a splash.

A new 60 second spot for Under Armour’s #WeWill campaign features Syrian Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini and a powerful tale of overcoming the most extreme challenges. Yusra competed as part of the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, having left her family and home in war-torn Syria just a year prior.

The Under Armour ad picks up the inspirational story as part of a wider campaign that also supported the relief efforts of first responders after the devastating Hurricane Harvey. The underlying message is that “sports can inspire, unite, and even change the world.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWVgnrQtZM

An ambitious message, perhaps, but time and again sport proves to be a fantastic way to promote international unity and tell stories of challenging lives overcoming adversity. Events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA Wold Cup truly do bring billions of people together and allow for inspiring tales to be told.

This year, we are also hearing some tales that until recently were less commonly told in the sporting arena. Finally it seems, there is a genuine shift in focus to bring women in to the picture. Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign has been hugely successful in getting more women more active in the UK since it’s launch in 2015.

However, the most emphatic new voices are coming from the Middle East. Yusra’s story follows on from Nike’s move to launch an athletic hijab after seeing Sarah Attar sprinting for Saudi Arabia at the London 2010 Olympics. Due for release in Spring 2018, the hijab line was announced with an epic ad showing Middle Eastern women playing their sport and looking seriously cool doing it. Finally, sport is no longer just for men.

With changing attitudes in the Middle East, as well as an acknowledged need to get everyone – but especially women – more active in the region, these are timely and well-produced campaigns. Working to encourage activity, they may also work to encourage unity, as more campaigns launch in the build up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup will finally give the Middle East some international sporting credentials to get behind and help open up a region that is alien and misunderstood by many – athletically or otherwise.

It seems that maybe sport does have the power to change the world. No longer just for men. No longer just a game.

As June leaps off the bench this year, it brings with it not just the promise of the Great British Summer but also the excitement of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

It is almost impossible to escape the surrounding furore, as everyone tries to get a piece of the brand value silverware on offer, through association (officially or otherwise) with the tournament.

Nike were one of the first off the mark, with an ad that at once plays up to their other cinematic spectacles of recent years (complete with a brilliant Hollywood cameo), while also tapping into a grassroots appeal that keeps their campaign grounded. The insight that kids play as their favourite stars while using jumpers for goalposts is an obvious one, and boys playing alongside their heroes is a classic fall-back for sports equipment, but there is a wit and style that gives Nike’s guerrilla offering an edge here.

Certainly over Adidas, whose dark dreams from Lionel Messi may appeal to an older crowd, but their campaign may have missed the nostalgia-fest that Panini and the BBC have also picked up on. Panini’s sticker albums have had a new burst of life, as a new generation of boys raised on swapping sticker albums in the playground have children (or even just a disposable income) to justify collecting again. The BBC, meanwhile, have gone for a Subbuteo style aesthetic, to reassert their position as being a big name in football, but still small enough to keep you engaged in your living room.

The brand with the most at stake, however, is Brand Brazil. With a rapidly growing economy, the huge South American country will be looking to raise it’s international profile, in the way London 2012 did for Brand Britain. Buses have been carnavalised and samba styles have infected many other products looking for association with the tournament. Whether the brand engagement will have the same lasting impact as the London Olympics, remains to be seen – a large part of the brand success came from the tournament’s smooth-running and fantastic show. Brazil has got off to a shaky start already, with its delayed stadium preparations. Whether it can build up a positive momentum of international engagement that can peak at the next olympics will be the challenge. Otherwise, Rio 2016 may have to be a second chance for Brand Brazil. But let’s hope they don’t need it, and the Beautiful Game has a beautiful tournament lit up by its greatest champions.

Adidas – Messi’s World Cup Dream

BBC’s promotion for its coverage of the tournament

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK2SCh4TPYM

FIFA TV’s official tournament spot

Lee helps ambitious brands solve business and marketing problems through the use of advanced technology combined with compelling contemporary user experiences.

A seasoned interactive marketing lead with 15 years experience, Lee’s agency careers spans Director positions including Omnicom’s Impact Proximity, FCB digital agency, Blue Barracuda and ATOM.

For Emirates Airlines Lee managed an entire portfolio of companies including the Airline, Holidays, Arabian Adventures, Skywards, SkyCargo, Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa.