Tonight, 4am, as I’m sure you all know, is the final of the Rugby World Cup. France is playing against New Zealand, and even if there is a huge probability that we’re going to get crushed: Allez le bleus!
What is really nice about France reaching the final is that brands are building a lot on it to advertise, they just act as fast as they can delivering an ad in the hours or the day after the event happened.
The first big one was after the quarter final, where France beat England, a huge rival:
Bred with roastbeef.
To explain a bit, the rooster is the emblem of France and roastbeef is a name we often use to characterize the british (yes, we’re mean, but they call us froggies!). Nike is the official sponsor of the French Rugby Team.
The impact has been huge; the image was all over social medias and press. It calls directly to our renowned chauvinism and it works.
A second just appear some days ago:
Come on Marc, shave this moustache!
Again, a bit of explanation: Marc is the head coach of the French rugby team and recently grew an ugly Freddy Mercury moustache. Plus the moustache is here formed of two silver ferns that is the emblem of the All Blacks, the New Zealand rugby team. The ad has been released by Wilkinson, a renowned razor brand.
Those are recent examples but it occurs quite often in France, brands buy the back cover of a national newspaper and deliver a simple, smart and slightly irreverent message.
Even if I’m sure it doesn’t really call for a purchase action, I like the fact that brands also advertise to promote their own identity. It’s hard for a company to have a real character. And the only way they can build one is by their actions: events, ad… But the fact that they sometimes release those instant ads just calls the fact that there is humans behind the brand and that they’re concerned about the same topics as their consumers. Now is rugby and tomorrow something else but I think brands should definitely work on this angle of being part of the society movement.
To finish an ad that also made a lot of noise at its time:
Published in the biggest sport newspaper in France by Sony for Playstation after the shameful loss of the French soccer team in the world cup.
Couillu!
Barthelemy Bricout
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