BEST BRAND ACTIVATION INVOLVING FOOTBALL
Aston Villa FC and adidas
Aston Villa’s 2024/25 kit launch campaign marked a new era, celebrating the club’s 150th anniversary, launching a historic partnership with adidas, and amplifying its UEFA Champions League return after 40 years. The challenge was to create a campaign that resonated locally while expanding global reach, leveraging Birmingham’s heritage as the birthplace of heavy metal and the club’s deep cultural roots.
In collaboration with adidas and agency Homeground, Aston Villa executed a groundbreaking campaign led by a viral kit launch video featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath. The film seamlessly blended Paranoid—a Villa Park anthem—with the Champions League theme, symbolizing the club’s resurgence. The campaign extended to community events, international activations in New York’s JD Sports flagship store, and limited-edition Black Sabbath-themed merchandise, including custom boots worn by Emi Martinez.
The results were record-breaking. The campaign generated 692 million impressions, record shirt sales and overwhelming fan engagement, with a 90.1% joy sentiment score. Media hailed it as “brilliant” and an “instant classic,” while Paranoid re-entered the Billboard charts. By fusing football, music, and culture, Aston Villa and adidas delivered an innovative, globally acclaimed campaign that redefined football marketing.
Barclays – Partnership Renewal
At Barclays, as a bank, we’re known for being more serious than fun. When it comes to football, it can be tricky to position ourselves in an engaging way.
We also know how difficult it is to drive mainstream awareness around a sponsorship deal. Everyone’s seen the standard image – a few suits shaking hands holding a shirt with [insert brand name] on the back standing outside of [insert rights holder stadium].
So when it came to renewing Barclays’ partnerships with the Premier League, The FA and Women’s Professional Leagues Limited , doing it in a way that was going to generate mass awareness and positive engagement was quite the challenge.
We brought in some help. Namely, a giant furry green dinosaur. And a giant furry seagull, eagle and bumblebee.
That’s right, to announce Barclays’ record breaking new partnerships with the nation’s biggest football properties, we brought together mascots from across the leagues together in a place you typically wouldn’t see them in: a Barclays boardroom.
The football fans’ favourite furry friends gave their seal of approval on the partnerships in light-hearted, amusing content that was then used to drive coverage. So when we went out with the news about our partnerships renewal, it was picked up by titles who wouldn’t typically run news about a partnership renewal.
We made the renewals announcement and mascot video a national news story, reaching 62m people with a value of £2m, with overwhelmingly positive sentiment.
Thanks Gunnersaurus (and Pete, Stamford and Buzzette).
Etihad Airways – Football should always be fun
The campaign aimed to transform Zayed International Airport from just another airport stop into the exciting start of every Etihad journey. By shifting perceptions from indifference to excitement, we highlighted the unique experiences passengers could enjoy.
Our goal was to inspire travelers to choose Etihad, creating emotional connections that went beyond the flight itself. Through a collaboration with Manchester City, we connected the airport’s cutting-edge features to the passion of football. The campaign brought the airport’s key features to life, from advanced biometric technology for faster processing to retail offerings rivaling top malls and dining experiences for every taste.
The campaign’s “Football Should Always Be Fun” film showcased Manchester City players, with Erling Haaland symbolizing dynamic energy, Phil Foden highlighting precision, and Jack Grealish capturing seamless travel. Meanwhile, John Stones’ defensive skills mirrored operational efficiency, and Pep Guardiola’s relaxed latte moment emphasized luxury. This fusion of football and airport services positioned Etihad and Zayed International Airport as leaders in innovation and comfort.
Spanning YouTube, Meta, and TikTok, the campaign included CapCut activation, allowing fans to create personalized videos, driving engagement. Tailored for football fans, it featured interactive formats to strengthen emotional connections between travel, football, and Etihad.
Paddy Power – Europe’s Favourites in Euro 2024!
Summer 2024. Men’s tournament football is back where it belongs; no autumn/winter World Cup 2022 nonsense… Europe’s best national sides are in Germany, hoping to reach Berlin’s final.
Over at Paddy Power, we had a Hefeweizen in one hand and a Bratwurst in the other, excitedly shouting Guten Tag Deutschland.
EURO 2024 for us was all about one goal: Become the most talked about brand, even when going up against the official global sponsors. And despite being an Irish company, we were ready to become England’s cheerleader-in-chief.
Our focus was stronger than a German penalty-taker’s and we knew VAR could not save us from any bad decisions. But being Irish, our activity had to resonate with the whole of England, not alienate the whole nation.
So, we flipped the script, with our light-hearted joke-filled flagship TV advert (60 seconds), starring one of English football’s own, Danny Dyer, and former England striker Peter Crouch. A range of Europeans stated their “favourite” (in an ironic way) things about the English including ‘Gracious exits’ (a French nod to Brexit).
Alongside mischievous, and fun social content, EURO 2024 was the most successful campaign we have EVER delivered, both commercially and on advertising metrics.
Paris Saint-Germain & Snipes – Home Heroes
In a city where football and street culture are inseparable, Paris Saint-Germain and Snipes joined forces to create “HOME HEROES”, a campaign designed to give back to the community and a way to make supporters feel like true stakeholders in their club’s identity.
The campaign launched with a powerful message: “Ici c’est notre terrain”—a play on PSG’s legendary slogan, redefining the idea of ownership in football. The kickoff photoshoot took place on a suburban rooftop, bringing together PSG players and local heroes, symbolizing the fusion of sport, streetwear, and community.
To deepen engagement, PSG and Snipes created immersive experiences. At the Pablo Tee-Shirt Factory event, hundreds of fans customized jerseys, making PSG’s colors their own. During a PSG-Lens match, 12 home heroes saw their names displayed on the Snipes logo of the players’ jerseys—an unprecedented moment of recognition. The campaign culminated in the opening of Le Snipes Deck, a 165-seat capacity dedicated community space at Parc des Princes, unveiled during a Champions League clash with the NBA Spurs team.
With 307 million impressions, 90 million reached accounts, and 850k engagements, “HOME HEROES” successfully merged football and streetwear, proving that fan engagement goes beyond the pitch—it’s about culture, creativity, and belonging.
Skechers Football
Skechers, a globally recognised leader in footwear, ventured into the highly competitive football boot market in August 2023, targeting the UK first. Traditionally associated with older demographics, Skechers sought to reshape its brand perception, focusing on young, next-gen audiences through a multi-channel marketing strategy emphasising comfort, style, and innovation.
In year one, Skechers launched four new football boot collections – Diamond-Ice, Laser-Comfort, Evolution, and Ignite – each supported by impactful storytelling across social, PR OOH, TV, retail, influencer partnerships, and paid media. Activations like The Final Five tournament established Skechers in grassroots football culture, garnering 11.7 million views and strong Gen Z engagement. The strategic signing of 106 young athletes globally further cemented Skechers’ position in football culture, reinforcing authenticity and credibility.
Social media played a pivotal role in growth, with Skechers’ Football channels growing significantly. With viral campaigns, such as Harry Kane’s limited-edition Golden Boot drop and community-focused initiatives with influencers like Anthony Elanga, Skechers is now a serious market competitor.
B2C sales increased and 91% of young audiences report improved perceptions of Skechers Football. A rising force, Skechers Football is reshaping category dynamics and winning over next-gen consumers.
The FA – Evolving the FA Cups for the next generation
The ‘Magic of the FA Cup’, right?! You know it. It’s been said many times but can you determine what it actually means? For some, it’s the epitome of a long-standing cultural icon. For others, it’s an intangible, tired cliche that lacks relevance in a modern football world. So, we’ve executed a seismic change in strategy in order to future-proof the Men’s & Women’s FA Cups against an ever-changing football audience and media landscape.
At the heart of our strategic shift are young and diverse communities who continue to reshape what football means to rights holders and brands alike. For them, we’re attempting to ‘meet them where they play’; leveraging their interest in fashion, music and lifestyle subcultures to execute creative campaigns, events and season-long content threads which connect to their personal values and behaviours. The football follows.
This bold new approach has shifted brand perceptions, increased appeal, exponentially grown our social media following, increased viewership, engagement and facilitated new revenue opportunities. It’s a dawn of a new era for the world’s most loved domestic Cup competitions.
Topps UK with UEFA EURO 2024™
2024 marked a historic milestone for Topps as the collectibles company became the official trading cards and stickers provider for their first-ever international football tournament: UEFA EURO 2024™.
The challenge? Topps’ had never held an international football tournament license before and so needed a campaign to launch an epic new collection AND change the mindsets of generations of collectors.
Topps achieved this through an always-on cadence of activity across widespread earned-media, must-see viral content, unmissable influencer activity, and exciting events for key audiences.
With the help of a giant mosaic of Scotland captain Andy Robertson made from 5,000 Topps Match Attax trading cards, alongside football ambassadors like Jose Mourinho, Alan Shearer, and celebrity collectors Roman Kemp and Chris Stark; the campaign saw sales targets surpassed, KPI’s smashed, and incredible results that made Topps one of the most talked-about brands of the tournament.
Unsilence The Crowd by Sela and Newcastle United
What is it like to experience a live football game if you can’t hear? Most people’s enduring impression of a Premier League match is the sheer wall of noise – the cheering, the booing, the roar when a goal goes in. Live football is an inherently sonic experience, especially at St. James’ Park, home of Newcastle United (NUFC).
Sela, sponsors of Newcastle United and specialists in live experiences, recognised an opportunity to help a fan demographic too often overlooked – the Deaf community. Using cutting-edge technology, we developed a world-first: a replica NUFC shirt woven with intelligent sensors that translated the ebbs and flows of crowd noise into a complex “physical language” of waves and tingles.
The response was ecstatic. Deaf fans called it “transformative” and the initiative won global acclaim, with coverage in 200+ countries/territories (5.08 billion consolidated reach). CNN International even rebuilt their studio to cover the story and be more accessible for future signed coverage. The technology has been used in two major football tournaments and is forging a lasting legacy for millions of fans around the world.
