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STREETLIFE Comparing World Cup ads: Puma, Nike and Adidas | Comparing World Cup ads: Puma, Nike and Adidas |
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| Monday, 07 June 2010 | |
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Even those with zero interest in football know the World Cup is taking place in Africa for the first time in history. The fact is of some importance (regardless of your opinion on what else the $3.5 bn could have been spent on). African players make up a disproportionate number of top-league stars outside Africa, and despite the lack of resources continues to be a breeding ground of future talent. Click on "Read More" Share
Furthermore, Africans are as passionate about the game as fans from any other continent, arguably more so. So you would expect some of this to register in the ads of the main sports brands, Nike, Adidas and Puma. The Nike "Write the Future" ad starts off promisingly but rapidly puts on some excess weight. Perhaps reflecting its position as the world's biggest sportswear manufacturer the company decided on the Nike-across-the-world approach. With some of the world's biggest sports stars on their books there doesn't seem to have been much room for them to make any specific points about football in Africa. I'm surprised they didn't find room for Roger Federer, though. Why not? They roped in Kobe Bryant. ADIDAS The biggest surprise though is Adidas, which unlike Puma and Nike is an official partner of FIFA and, as usual, is supplying the official World Cup ball, this time named the "Jabulani. Adidas is the number one football brand with 12 national teams on its books, including Germany, Argentina, Spain, France and the hosts South Africa. But so far it seems Adidas is content to restrict any African references to the ball. "Jabulani" means "to celebrate" in isiZulu, and features 11 colours, in reference to South Africa's 11 tribes, but also, conveniently, the number of players in a team. Show me the money Ultimately, it's about hard cash. Africa is a minuscule market for sportswear compared to probably any other continent, so the bigger the brand the more conservative it's going to be with its advertising bucks to avoid doing the slightest thing to affect its revenue stream. Still, I have the feeling Nike and Adidas are underestimating the public. They could have enhanced their respective brand reps around the world by subverting expectations and being a bit more creative in their thinking. After all that's partly how Nike in particular got where it is today. Vidz posted by tchikno, nikefootball and FCBarcelonaFootball
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