A Creatives’ Guide to the Russia 2018 World Cup
The egos. The dramatics. The cheers. The tears. The excess drinking. The crowd control. No, we’re not talking about next week’s Cannes Lions, but the World Cup, which kicks off in Russia this week. Maybe you’re lucky enough to be heading over to support your team, maybe you’ll be enjoying the tournament at home or on the Croisette and fancy embracing a bit of Russian style – but however you’re planning to follow the World Cup, LBB's Laura Swinton asked for some words of advice from Russia’s creative community, from the local way to enjoy your vodka to the best places to enjoy the matches.
Andrey Gubaydullin
ECD & co-founder
Voskhod Creative Agency
Where are you based?
Andrey> Ekaterinburg - one of the World Cup cities.
Top tip for creatives visiting Russia for the World Cup:
Andrey> Use the Yandex taxi app to get anywhere fast.
Taste real Russian food: borsch, dumplings (pielmeni), okroshka (it’s a cold soup) and sorrel soup (I doubt anyone who’s not a native Russian speaker can pronounce its name, but you can try: shchi iz shchavelya).
Don’t drink vodka on the rocks, just ask for ice-cold vodka.
If you want to learn a really useful Russian word, here’s a good one: “DAVAY! DAVAY!” it means ”Come on! Attack!”. That’s what you will really need at the stadiums and in the fan zones.
Don’t hesitate to express your emotions.
Best place to watch the World Cup from:
Andrey> The best place: any World Cup stadium of course. But the best city is definitely Ekaterinburg, the city with a true Russian spirit.
Who do you think will win?
Andrey> Definitely Germany or Portugal
Favourite World Cup ad?
Andrey> Gatorade’s latest short film about Messi.
Mikhail Sinelshchikov
Creative
Possible Moscow
LBB> Where are you based?
In Moscow.
LBB> Top tip for creatives visiting Russia for the World Cup:
Look for and notice reasons for inspiration in this country that won’t leave anyone feeling indifferent. I think we’ve got many things that can really amaze people who are not used to their everyday life here - lifestyle, architecture, mentality. Russia is something that surprises, sometimes even Russians themselves. These surprises are usually a little funny and sad at the same time, touching and sometimes tragic… But it’s always interesting and it never fails to inspire.
LBB> Best place to watch the World Cup:
The arenas, of course. This is where the emotions are at their highest, and they can vary greatly depending on the expectations that the fans have of the game. Based on my experience, I can vouch for the «Spartak» arena - the most modern and comfortable stadium of my favourite club.
"Luzhniki", which will host the World Cup final, has undergone a significant reconstruction and has become more comfortable for the fans. However, if you’ve got the tickets for the upper levels (the stadium’s capacity is around 80 000 spectators), then you better grab a telescope.
LBB> Who do you think will win?
Brazil or France or Germany or Spain, maybe Belgium or Argentina, perhaps Croatia. Portugal, Columbia and Uruguay might win, or Poland, Peru, Costa-Rica, Australia or Panama. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Mexico all have a chance to become a winner. Korea, Senegal, Morocco can also hope to win. Perhaps the final might have Egypt, England, Tunisia. Nigeria, Switzerland. Denmark or Sweden can achieve some great results. Sweden and Iceland will not be the last ones, for sure. And, maybe, Russia. Although it doesn’t seem very likely, probably not.
LBB> Favourite World Cup ad?
Not very unusual but – Nike Write The Future – World Cup 2010 Commercial.
It’s really cool that this video has managed to partly predict the future of one of its characters. I haven’t seen any of the ads that could rival it (among those that were dedicated entirely to the World Cup), except for the recent video by Guy Ritchie.
Evgeniy Shinyaev
Creative group head
Leo Burnett Moscow
Evgeniy> Moscow
Top tips for creatives visiting Russia for the World Cup:
Evgeniy> Don’t use Google Maps – they work 200 times worser in Russia than in the rest of the world. Instead – download the Yandex.Maps app – it’s great for using in Russia.
For the same reason try to avoid using Uber – choose Yandex.Taxi app instead.
Best place to watch the World Cup from:
Evgeniy> The weather in Moscow should be great for the whole championship. Try to find an amazing outdoor terrace to watch matches using Foursquare.
Book ahead! The previous championship was amazing to watch at Dom12 café – they even invited popular Russian football commentators to comment live, so if you know Russians – it will be great to be there for you.
Who do you think will win?
Evgeniy> The Germans. They always win.
Favourite World Cup ad?
Dmitry Tutkov
Chief creative officer
TUTKOVBUDKOV
Where are you based?
Dmitry> TUTKOVBUDKOV is based in Volgograd, one of the 11 host cities for the World Cup.
Top tip for creatives visiting Russia for the World Cup:
Dmitry> If you are visiting Russia this June, please do spend more time in the nine host cities that are not Moscow or Saint Petersburg. Because the 'two capitals' have very little to do with what Russia is today. And if you do venture beyond, you'll travel along the longest river in Europe, the Volga. And you might just see, among other things, a statue called 'Motherland' that's twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty in New York. And it's right here, in Volgograd — please drop by our river port office!
Best place to watch the World Cup from?
Dmitry> On the stadium with the fans — be there, live there. If you can't get a ticket, find the best pub in the city. There's been more than a few good ones recently. TripAdvisor seems to work best in Russia for queries like this.
Who do you think will win?
Dmitry> Germany is a clear favourite for me. Spain is a close second.
Favourite World Cup ad?
Dmitry> The best ad we've seen so far here in Russia comes from S7 Airlines. It's called One World — One Team, and it's a play on the global oneworld alliance that they are a part of:
Alexander Alexeev
Creative director
Serviceplan Russia
Where are you based?
Alexander> A walk away from entrance of Luzhniki stadium where the World Cup will open on June 14th.
Top tip for creatives visiting Russia for the World Cup:
Alexander> Never mix vodka with beer. And if you do, be prepared for a late-night talk with a police officer about the Black Square by Malevich.
Best place to watch the World Cup from:
Alexander> Fan-zone with huge screen next to Moscow University. ‘Till the last drop’ pub near Pushkin square. In a cab of Moscow metro with smartphone in hands. Once we try all those options, we will tell which is the best.
Favourite World Cup ad?
Alexander> Watch. Support. Create the answer.
Yuri Polonskiy
Executive creative director
Saatchi & Saatchi Russia
Where are you based?
Yuri> Moscow
Top tips for creatives visiting Russia for the World Cup:
Yuri> Go to the famous Sandunov Bath House or other good Russian baths, drink beer and eat shrimps - you can also watch the match broadcast there.
Try the Georgian and Abkhazian cuisine, check nightclubs, get tickets to the water bus to look at the city from the water.
Best place to watch the World Cup from:
Yuri> In a hotel or at home with friends. For security reasons.
Who do you think will win?
Yuri> I would root for Brazil or Portugal.
Favourite World Cup ad?
Ilya Khrushev
Client service director
Leo Burnett Moscow
Where are you based?
Ilya> Moscow.
Top tips for creatives visiting Russia for the World Cup:
Ilya> Use free trains to get to the match cities.
Best place to watch the World Cup from:
Ilya> Stadiums - fan zones. Tons of bars in every city.
Who do you think will win?
Ilya> Brazil
