MARKETING DAILY's Tanya Gazdik Irwin reported the FIFA Man Of The Match, presented by Budweiser, is "seeing a record turnout of fan voting across the world with multiple games already exceeding the total vote count" from the '10 FIFA World Cup final. Through the first 14 games of this year’s tournament, cumulative voting "has already surpassed more than 1 million total fan votes." Budweiser "is giving a few select fans from around the world who embody the selfless spirit of the 'Rise As One' campaign and have given back to the game ... a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to present the FIFA Man Of The Match, presented by Budweiser, trophy to select winners" (MEDIAPOST.com, 6/22).
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN: AD AGE's Ken Wheaton wrote McDonald's World Cup ad showing various people "doing impossible tricks with soccer balls" is a "hit with the media, a hit with soccer fans, a hit with people on Facebook, some of whom might not even know what the World Cup is." The ad promotes McDonald's "augmented-reality 'Gol!' game released as part of its official World Cup sponsorship." McDonald's "used a viral video to market an addicting mobile game that requires the actual purchase of an order of fries" (ADAGE.com, 6/23).
CALLING AN AUDI-BLE: FOXSPORTS.com's Branden Williams noted Audi has joined the World Cup festivities by "building a giant LED soccer scoreboard that is illuminated by the headlights of 28 Audi A8 sedans." The 40-foot-tall structure in Brooklyn is "comprised of 45 shipping containers with the 'digital clusters' being made up entirely of LED headlights on Audi's flagship sedan." The scoreboard "kicked off with Team USA's victory over Ghana last Monday and will showcase the scores of every soccer match through July 14" (FOXSPORTS.com, 6/22).
SLOW YOUR ROLL: Brands were not as engaged on social media during Sunday's U.S.-Portugal match as they were during the U.S.-Ghana match earlier in the tournament, according to data from Atlanta-based CSE. There were 3,107 brand-related tweets during U.S-Portugal, down 22% from the 3,962 tweets during U.S.-Ghana (CSE).
