Brazilian football has embarked on the adventure of recovering creativity. A big step in this direction is Palmeiras' decision to create spaces to play football, not to train it. The aim is to recover the experience of street football, where instinct, inspiration and creativity are more important than strategy, physicality and repetition.
The possible resurgence of the Brazilian jogo bonito generates mixed emotions in me.
As an Argentinian, I am relieved to see the Brazil of this era, which never gets past the quarter-finals in World Cups, and when it does they score seven goals, which loses three consecutive South American qualifiers, which draws at home to Venezuela.
But as a football fan, the truth is that I miss a bit the super-powerful Brazil that had never lost a qualifier (I remember watching the 2-0 win over Bolivia in La Paz that ended their historic unbeaten run), that was always in the final stages, that had fun on the pitch. That it had so many cracks with R. From Raà and Romário to Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos.
In honour of that nostalgia, in this issue of nutmeg fc I have decided to highlight (some of) the best creative ideas coming out of the land of Scratch.
Let's play a bossa nova...
Airport 98 (Nike)
You might still be too young, but back in the early 90s, the mix of Nike and football (soccer) was quite odd. The football brands were Adidas, Umbro, Lotto, Diadora, Topper in South America, and a few others. Nike was focused on other sports.
But after the USA World Cup, the swoosh decided to dive into football big time, snagging the Brazilian national team, and football was never the same again.
One of the ads that marked this new path (after Good vs Evil) was the one they released ahead of France 98, where the reigning world champions had fun at the airport.
My Blood Is Red and Black (Hemoba Foundation + Esporte Clube Vitória)
In 2012, the blood bank in Bahia was almost empty. How did they fix it? They took the red out of Vitória's shirt (one of the main clubs in the region) and told the fans they had to donate blood if they wanted it back.
That way, they achieved their goal while creating shirts for the history books.
Golazo.
Security Moms (Sport Club do Recife)
A bit more recent, Sport Recife also decided to use creativity to tackle an endemic problem. In this case, violence in stadiums.
The idea was to turn around the saying that violent people don't respect anyone and reach out to those who they do respect.
I couldn't find data on whether this was a long-term solution or just for one match (and the video that presents the idea). Hopefully, it was.
The Price on the Jersey (Walmart)
Public service campaigns are always rewarding, but we live off selling. That's why we couldn't leave out this idea from Walmart to promote their weekly offers.
I think it's impractical in leagues where what can (and can't) be put on jerseys is more regulated. But that's also the beauty of the Brasileirao.
A cashback for your jersey’s back (Flash).
We started with Nike and we're ending with this campaign, which ironically takes a jab at Nike.
An action that fulfills one of the golden rules of marketing and advertising: if you can't beat them, join them. But if you can't join them either, hack them.
Honorable Mentions.
The Zé Theory (Zé Delivery)
Pay Per Beer (Brahma)
Fake Medical Department (Brahma)