MasterCard is tapping into the "madness" and "irrational emotions" of football fans for its sponsorship of the 2016 UEFA Champions League, according to Sarah Shearman of CAMPAIGN LIVE. Featuring Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon, the brand, which has been a sponsor of the European football tournament for 22 years, unveiled a "priceless surprise" ahead of the final, where Real Madrid defeated Atlético Madrid 5-3 on penalties.
As part of the campaign, devised by McCann Worldgroup UK & Europe, MasterCard also ran "a real-time social media campaign during the game." MasterCard has devised a new creative platform for this year’s sponsorship -- "Some call it madness. We call it priceless" -- which began rolling out three months ago (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 5/27).
WITHOUT A CARE: CAMPAIGN LIVE's James Swift wrote The Krankies and Michelle McManus "join a thronging hoarde of Scots singing their nonchalance about failing to qualify for the Euro 2016 tournament in a new ad from Paddy Power." Lucky Generals created the ad, which launches Paddy Power’s "Vive la Bantz" campaign and aired during the Champions League final on Saturday. The game aired on BT Sport and will also be streamed live on YouTube, "in a first for the tournament." The 60-second commercial "features a rabble of Scottish celebrities (including comedy duo The Krankies and singer Michelle McManus) and footballers (such as Andy Goram) -- as well as some historical and mythological figures, like Robert the Bruce and The Loch Ness Monster -- singing to the tune of Fat Les’ Vindaloo, which was originally written to support England’s 1998 World Cup effort" (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 5/27).
