Domino's Pizza has taken an "unusual approach" to publicizing itself as the food of choice during the World Cup, "by reflecting on retired English footballer Jimmy Bullard's failure to ever make it to the tournament," according to John McCarthy of THE DRUM. An ad campaign from the pizza brand and agency VCCP shows Bullard "performing mundane household tasks during the World Cup." Helping extend the reach of the campaign is a partnership with Sport Bible, which "will help seed the work through YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well as through CRM." The work ties in with wider brand motto "The Official Food of Everything," which launched in September (THE DRUM, 6/13).
'OPPO FRIEND': SOCCEREX reported Neymar signed an endorsement deal with Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo ahead of the World Cup. The Brazil int'l, 26, was unveiled as an "OPPO friend" and will be seen promoting the company's products during this summer's tournament in Russia (SOCCEREX, 6/13).
AMBUSH MARKETING: McCarthy also reported mobile carrier Three UK is "getting involved in the World Cup chat by rebranding a handful of stores with three cute lion emojis." Manchester Arndale, London Islington, Brighton and Portsmouth stores were rebranded with three lion emojis "to bring it in line with the England side's nickname," the Three Lions. The "clever stunt, with deniability, ties the brand to the England team without splurging for an official partnership." This marks "one of the most blatant pieces of World Cup ambush marketing" in '18 (THE DRUM, 6/13).
AFRICAN OUTREACH: EGYPT INDEPENDENT's Al-Masry Al-Youm reported the "Egypt -- Experience & Invest" campaign by the Ministry of Investment & Int'l Cooperation on Tuesday signed a contract with FIFA to become an official regional supporter of the 2018 World Cup "to promote Egypt as a global investment destination and to attract more tourists from around the world to visit." Egypt Minister of Investment & Int'l Cooperation Sahar Nasr said that the campaign "will engage with football fans both through social media and directly to showcase the wide spectrum of investment opportunities in Egypt" (EGYPT INDEPENDENT, 6/13).
'TIME ON THEIR HANDS': Int'l e-commerce company Wish developed a global marketing campaign focusing on some of the teams that will not be represented in Russia -- Italy, the Netherlands, Chile, Wales and the U.S. -- and featuring their best players -- Gianluigi Buffon, Robin van Persie, Claudio Bravo, Gareth Bale and Tim Howard. Through the series, which consists of six spots, Wish gives football fans a glimpse into the players' summer and helps them find more hobbies now that they have some "time on their hands." The videos are all connected and eventually two players who are competing in the tournament -- Paul Pogba (France) and Neymar (Brazil) -- are introduced (Wish).
VIKING FUEL: The Icelandic FA (KSÍ) signed Icelandic Provisions, which produces traditional skyr in the U.S., as its official nutrition sponsor (Icelandic Provisions).
