The battles on the pitches of Brazil at this Summer’s World Cup will be intense. They will also be matched in marketing teams around the world as official sponsors fight to protect their investment against rival brands looking to steal a march from outside the ‘protected’ media space during the tournament.
With a little over two months to go until kick off Coca Cola and Pepsi have unveiled their first offerings with two minute ads that reach beyond celebrity endorsement and look to tap social and cultural touch points.
Coke has identified communities in Palestine and on the tsunami ravaged shores of Japan with a campaign based on the fact that soccer provides an identity and ‘a reason to go on’.
Pepsi reverts to more traditional brand ambassadors with Lionel Messi heading a star cast in a spot that focuses on the cultural coming together behind Heroes on the pitch.
You can see both the ads below and we will follow up the World Cup marketing battles over the coming weeks.
