Nike Builds Suspense With Its Latest Ronaldo Soccer Viral

Sports organizations looking for new ways to utilize their YouTube channel to drive buzz around a product/season ticket launch should take a close look at Nike's latest viral campaign entitled "Only the Fastest".

Nike launched the campaign yesterday (10/26) with a 35-second viral designed to drive buzz for the launch of Cristiano Ronaldo's new soccer boots. The clip takes viewers along for a ride as Ronaldo's boots leave Nike Global HQ in Portland and are shipped out to their final destination for the product launch on October 28th. The viral, which has generated 130K views in less than 48 hours, leaves viewers with a level of suspense, as no one can really expect what is coming next.

Nike does a tremendous job using simple tactics (the copy block underneath the video) to drive people to its "Only the Fastest..." Facebook page. Thus far, 10,000+ consumers have opted to "attend" the special event (which is rather vague) while another 3,400 are possibly attending (translation - 1 in 13 consumers who viewed the viral opted in for the Facebook event).

Check out the viral and the Facebook page below:

VIRAL

YOUTUBE CHANNEL (WITH CALL-TO-ACTION IN COPY BLOCK)

FACEBOOK PAGE

Castrol Creates the Ultimate Kicking Machine

Are you looking for new ways to integrate technological advancements and sports? Are you searching for ways to incorporate non-traditional partners?

As soccer fans gear up for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, BP Castrol Japan is drawing a significant amount of buzz after creating a kicking machine that can kick a soccer ball 200+ kilometers per hour. BP Castrol Japan is leveraging the machine by offering a "Win a Trip to Challenge Ronaldo" promotion where fans from select countries can enter online for a chance to battle Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world's most powerful shooters, in a head-to-head soccer kick competition.

Castrol signed a six-year agreement in June of 2008 to be an Official FIFA World Cup Sponsor after successfully deriving value out of the Castrol Index, an innovation it created in support of the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. 

Watch the kicking machine in action below: