The FIFA World Cup is arguably the biggest sporting event in the world descending from the stadium into the living rooms of millions of football fans across the world. But the euphoria of football’s most prestigious tournament hits well before the first game’s kick-off. The excitement builds up well in advance through the launch of some of the most iconic advertising campaigns around the game.
One such campaign is Viacom18’s official TVC for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ that captures the fan fever in India ahead of this year’s edition. The campaign film is a story of a fun heist through which the world’s greatest show takes over a world-famous puppet show in a carnival setting, much to the audience’s delight. What makes the campaign more vibrant is the showcasing of football legends like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, and others in a made in India puppet avatar, perfectly capturing the huge fandom of these football legends in India.
The quick-paced and entertaining TVC, rightly titled ‘Isse Bada Kuch Nahi’ aptly encapsulates the awe among Indian fans for the world’s most-watched sporting event and showcases the power of the game to captivate desi audiences.
JioCinema will offer multiple language feeds for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, including Tamil, Malayalam, and Bengali. The campaign also has short edits urging fans to watch the World Cup in these languages and reiterate how the world’s greatest sporting spectacle will be available to one and all for no subscription fees.
JioCinema, which is now available to download for all telecom services subscribers, will live-stream all the matches and offer curated content around the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. The competition from 20th November through 18th December will be available to all viewers on pay-TV channels Sports18 – 1 SD & HD. The 64-match showcase will be headlined by live streaming in 4K, a first for FIFA World Cup™ presentation in India on JioCinema.
The campaign has been developed and conceptualized by Ogilvy. IMPACT speaks to Sukesh Nayak, the Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy to understand what makes this campaign unique for the Indian audience and the thought behind using the football legends as puppets in the video.
Q] What was thought behind the high-impact storyline developed and conceptualised by Ogilvy for Viacom18’s FIFA World Cup campaign?
FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest entertainment shows in the world. Its reach and impact are unparalleled, and that is reflected in the following that the game has in our country. The driving thought at the heart of this campaign is that when football fever hits the town, it takes over every other form of entertainment, irrespective of the scale. This is what the campaign attempts to showcase.
Q] FIFA World Cup is a global sporting event; how does this campaign capture the excitement around the sport?
The campaign uniquely features some of the most popular international football players who enjoy immense fandom in India, engaged in a spectacular game of puppet football. The film is a celebration of the sport and the spirit of the FIFA World Cup that shows how fans come together to cheer for their favorite players once the world cup action kicks off.
Q] The campaign features several football legends in their puppet avatars. What was the idea behind featuring them?
The film features Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, Harry Kane, and Kylian Mbappe. They have awed the world with their talent and their achievements over the years. Naturally, these superstars have fans all over the world and are currently some of the most influential, even in India. The thought of bringing them into the film in a puppet avatar, however, was to present these stars to fans in a made-in-India avatar that they might have not seen before in a world cup context. Puppetry is such an important part of India’s rich cultural heritage, so what better format than this for the TVC?
Q] We have seen several iconic campaigns released during different seasons of the FIFA World Cup. In what way is this campaign unique?
The fun execution with the puppets of the most loved football stars from across the world will help break the clutter of an already saturated FIFA advertising market. The takeover proposition depicted by the puppets to land the biggest entertaining event will also help us stand out. Very importantly, the format is also relatable to Indian audiences, which is what will help us stand out.
Q] India has football fans across ages and gender. Who is the target audience for this campaign?
The campaign is meant to reach football fans across sections as they come together to cheer for the players and the teams as well. However, the idea of building a whole TVC around the aspect of the spirit of excitement that surrounds FIFA World Cup was to captivate casual fans and event watchers.
Q] Will the Indian audience connect to the carnival-like feel that the campaign has?
Oh absolutely. The never-seen-before grand spectacle of a puppet football match set up in a carnival will give the audience a reason to come together, cheer, celebrate, and eagerly await the grandest of the sports carnivals coming soon.
