Hyundai for its '14 FIFA World Cup activation "will focus on the passion of fans" rather than "focus on athletic endorsers" in a planned marketing blitz starting in June, according to Michael McCarthy of AD AGE. Hyundai agency Innocean USA, Huntington Beach, Calif., is creating the #BecauseFutbol campaign, which "will run across" ESPN and Univision. Hyundai Motor America Dir of Marketing Communications David Matathia said, "The theme we're working with is: as loyal and as passionate as fans are about their nation, or about their team, Hyundai owners are about their Hyundais." Upcoming TV ads "will highlight the emotions generated by World Cup -- and ask fans to share their own passion for World Cup and the Beautiful Game." One TV spot, called "Boom," opens in a hospital emergency room in an "unnamed Spanish-speaking country where a woman in labor shows up with her husband." They discover "an entire roomful of expectant couples." A nurse wonders, "What was going on nine months ago?" Flashback to nine months before, when a World Cup victory "led the entire country to go mad with amor." The campaign's outdoor work "will employ the same strategy." One billboard ad going up in Times Square "will show a close-up of a fan with the quote: 'I borrowed my daughter's makeup for my game face.'" Hyundai's World Cup effort "will push the new 2015 Sonata, which hits showrooms the same time as World Cup." Hyundai will "sponsor World Cup halftime shows on ESPN and Univision" to "gain prime visibility." There also will be a retail campaign "aimed heavily at the Top 20 U.S. Hispanic markets." Rival Volkswagen "will try to ambush Hyundai's global sponsorship by airing spots for its GTI, a vehicle that's popular with younger and Hispanic consumers" (ADAGE.com, 5/22).
