remark July 2014 | Page 5

PACESETTERS //03 NIKE RISK EVERYTHING Nike’s CMO, Davide Grasso, notes how the campaign uses a very particular range of Given their huge success during the 2010 FIFA superstar ambassadors to remind players in World Cup, Nike’s consistent ‘top two’ every country, at every level: “If you are position in our Brandtasy League for this years’ prepared to Risk Everything, there’s no telling Brazilian showpiece shouldn’t come as a what you can do”. surprise. Whether the US based sports brand does in Whilst the sportswear giant’s activity may not fact edge out their biggest competitor remains be considered a straightforward ambush of the to be seen, but if their “better-than-expected” tournament (Nike sponsor 10 of the 32 quarterly results are to be believed (Nike’s participating teams and a vast number of the revenue rose 13% in Q4) they are certainly en tournament’s stars) it’s more than noteworthy route to justifying the 36% increase in that their ‘Risk Everything’ campaign is going marketing spend seen over the same period. toe-to-toe with Official Sponsor Adidas’ #allin effort. SAMSUNG #GALAXY11 Indeed, Samsung have clearly placed products at the heart of the campaign with superstars Currently sitting just outside the Brandtasy including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and League top ten, Samsung are one of a handful Wayne Rooney using the Samsung Galaxy S5, of non-sponsors matching the performance of Gear 2 and Fit, to prepare for the “winner the likes of FIFA Partners VISA & Budweiser. takes Earth” match. Samsung’s #Galaxy11 is a multi-platform Ambassador selection also appears to have a global campaign that tells the story of 13 top- played a key role in the campaign’s success class football players attempting to ‘save the with regionally relevant football stars included planet from alien domination’ in a for their appeal in each critical sales region. #WinnerTakesEarth match. The electronics manufacturer’s official press release suggests Samsung’s next live-action spot is expected to that the campaign is designed to “stimulate land in July, let’s hope the #Galaxy11 play fans’ imaginations, inspire engagement, and more like Messi and less like Rooney and utilise the newest Samsung Galaxy devices”. Ronaldo … for all our sakes.