The FFA Promotes Upcoming Match with Unique Soccer Viral...

Are you looking to create a viral campaign to promote an upcoming match? Are you searching for ways to drive incrementalfan interest?

The Football Federation Australia recently created and released a captivating soccer viral piece designed to peak curiousity and interest for the team's World Cup Qualifier match against Uzbekistan. The FFA took a very unusual approach in creating the piece - they actually decided to promote the opposition (Uzbekistan) instead of their own club.

To spur interest in the match, the FFA decided to create an unbranded viral piece that showed what-appeared-to-be the Uzbekistan club being subject to extreme training methods, to not only drive awareness but to also instill fear (and interest) intothe Austrailian football faithful.

Since its release, the "extreme training" viral piece has done extremely well as its garnered nearly 320,000 views online. While the viral could be determined by some as deceptive, the FFA claims that the video is purely a piece of entertainment. But while some debate over the clip's intent, thousands of others are left wondering whether the content is real... an extremely well done soccer viral piece!

Enclosed are two (2) versions of the viral piece:

The FFA's Authentic Promotional Video

The Viral Piece That Has Generated 318,000+ Impressions

Billboard of the Week - Gatorade, Mia Hamm

Are you looking to create a messaging campaign that demonstrates the passion of female athletes? Are you looking for a creative way to promote the game of soccer?

In early February, Gatorade plastered a giant billboard of Mia Hamm on the side of a building at Fountain Place in Dallas, Texas. The billboardcampaign (part of Gatorade's new "G" messaging) does a great job portraying the passion and emotion Mia Hamm exemplified as a professional athlete. Check out the messaging campaign below:

Sources: Flickr photos from dasgogo

Billboard of the Week - Manny's Back!

Are you looking to welcome a high profile athlete back to your organization? Are you looking to create a brand building billboard campaign?

The Los Angeles Dodgers organization celebrated the return of star LF Manny Ramirez during the offseason by featuring a "Manny's Back" billboard campaign along major roadways across the city. The billboards served as an effective reminder of team's commitment to winning and stimulated buzz and interest for the upcoming season.

Check out the billboards below that capture Manny Fever in LA:

The Australian Football League Creates a Captivating Ad Campaign...

Are you looking for new ways to make your sport/organization resonate with a new fan base? Are you looking to create a captivating advertising campaign that is relevant across the globe?

The Australian Football League (AFL) recently kicked off the start of Aussie football season with an epic advertising campaign entitled "League of its Own" that features 19 AFL stars competing in different stadium environments around the world (boxing rings, soccer fields, etc.). The 60-second clip concludes with Hawthorn's Buddy Frankling kicking a goal.

The spot, created by George Patterson Y&R and produced by Revolver Film, will be supported by a season-long campaign featuring online, viral, radio, outdoor, and print elements. Check it out below:

Nike Taps into March Madness with Coach K...

Are you looking for unique ways to leverage collegiate personalities in your commercial messaging? Are you looking for new ways to incorporate humor in an effort to drive product sales?

With March Madness right around the corner, NIKEiD recently released a tremendous clip (Duke NIKEiD Madness) leveraging Coach K in a non-traditional, humorous setting. The clip, designed to drive awareness and sales of NIKEiD's customized Duke footwear and apparel, features Coach K in his office having a candid discussion with the Duke Blue Devil Mascot about what gear the team will be sporting in the tournament.

The humorous ad is guaranteed to drive some chatter during the tournament. Check it out below:

Billboard of the Week - Seattle Sounders FC

Is your expansion franchise looking for new ways to build equity in the local marketplace? Are you looking for new ways to incorporate traditional elements in your messaging campaigns?

The Seattle Sounders Football Club, MLS' newest franchise, collaborated with Adidas to create a Scarf Seattle, a uniquebranding campaign that capitalizes on the tradition of fans bringing/wearing scarves to soccer games. To drive significant eyeballs for the campaign, the Sounderspositioned agigantic scarf billboard on an overpass to capture the attention of drivers passing by (as shown below). The Sounders are doing their part todecorate the city of Seattle with scarves in every way possible.

The teamis supportingits scarf branding campaign by distributing inaugural season scarfs to its season ticket holders.

VitaminWater Revises the NCAA Tourney with New Laettner-Pitino Ad...

Is your brand looking to capitalize on classic moments in sports? Are you looking for unique ways to ingrain your brand in one of the finest moments of sports history?

VitaminWater recently released a terrific commercial advertisement for the 2009 NCAA College Basketball Tournament. The clip centers around Christian Laettner's life after basketball and how his game-winning last second shot over Kentucky in the 1992 East regional final game changed it forever.

VitaminWater doesa great job subtly integrating their product into the feature and even manages to squeeze in a cameo appearance from basketball legend Rick Pitino.

The commercial highlights VitaminWater's 2009 NCAA promotional campaign "Revive to Survive", which offers fans a chance to win a trip to the Final Four by logging into NCAA.com/revive and uploading a game winning moment or recreating a moment from NCAA history.

Check out the clip below:

Billboard of the Week - Gatorade and the Lakers Shine On...

Are you looking for unique ways to incorporate brand and team messaging in a captivating billboard campaign?

Gatorade recently featured a tremendous billboard campaign in Los Angeles that highlighted the brand's partnership with the Los Angeles Lakers. The billboard does a great job demonstrating how Gatorade's mantra aligns with the Lakers and the passion of the game.

Maker's Mark Doesn't Have a Taste for Michigan Football...

Are you looking to closely align your brand with a popular sports organization? Even if it comes at the cost of potentially stirring the loyalty of rival fans?

Maker's Mark recently posted a billboard in Columbus, Ohio that directly mocks the University of Michigan football team. The company, with headquarters in Loretta, Kentucky, currently features a billboard with a hand giving a toast, complemented by a tagline that reads "Here's to Football. Especially Michigan's".

Does the billboard cross the line? Probably yes. The billboard is an extremely risky move that could potentially alienate the entire University of Michigan fan base. But it does tap into the passion of the rivalry between the two Big Ten foes...a facet that brands often times strive to do.

Check out the billboard below. A special thanks to Nick Walstra for capturingthe image and Ben Koo of Watercooler Sports for passing it along.

 

The Celtics and Welch's Team Up to Create a Video Board Hit...

Are you looking for new ways to integrate the products of supporting partners into video board features? Are you looking for ways to incorporate corporate partners in memorable, fan-friendly initiatives?

The Boston Celtics have teamed up with Welch's Peanut Butter Jelly to create a classic feature that is shown on the video board during the team's home games. The clip features Welchy (Welch's Peanut Butter Jelly mascot) performing a variety of dance moves in what appears to be the Celtics locker room. The simple, yet engaging piece serves as a very effective way to drive fan excitement and awareness of Welch's affiliation with the Celtics organization. Check out the clip below:

A special thanks to Josh Hafer of the Columbus Blue Jacketsfor coming across this interactive in-game feature and passing it along.