Fever Pitch Hits Holland with ING's 'What's It Going To Be?'

Commissioned by ING, proud main sponsor of the Dutch National Football Team, JWT Amsterdam created the biggest online World Cup (WC) pool ever in The Netherlands. ‘What’s It Going To Be?’, is a fully integrated campaign centred around the online pool, that kicked-off with a TVC premiering on Saturday May 17th during the friendly match Holland vs. Ecuador.

During the WC, fever pitch for the love of football rises to unprecedented heights in Holland. Suddenly the country transforms into a nation of 17 million ‘football experts’. The question on everyone’s lips, before and during the tournament, and up until the final whistle is blown, is always ‘What’s It Going To Be?’. At www.watgaathetworden.nl everyone can share their answer to that question and predict all the WC matches. Holland’s predictions will be given back in unique break bumper TV commercial just before the start of every WC match.

Premiered on 17 May, the TVC ‘:50 TV spot, directed by Marco Grandia (Kobe vs Messi) shot on location in a colourful favela in Rio de Janeiro sees a group of 32 kids with their friends and family, who all actually live in the favela, preparing to create their own World Cup tournament. On June 12th, when the ball starts rolling in Brazil, it starts rolling in the second commercial in the kids’ own WC. At the end of both commercials with a VO, by the legendary Dutch football commentator Evert ten Apel, you are invited to join the largest online WC pool at www.watgaathetworden.nl and fill out your own predictions for each of the scheduled WC matches.

"Asking 'What’s it going to be?' is THE question that reflects how the Dutch people and their love of football come together like nothing else during the World Cup. This campaign supports that question. We, as main sponsor of the National team, are deeply involved in the love of football, and importantly, the love of Orange," said Johan van der Zanden, Communications Director, ING Netherlands.

Bas Korsten, Executive Creative Director, JWT Amsterdam, added: "Of course it’s every creative’s dream to come up with a World Cup campaign, especially when you have a client that loves football as much as you do. Because next to a campaign with an online heart that spreads across 8 or 9 different channels, it’s mostly the love of football that wins. It has the power to bring together a nation. And we hope this campaign from ING will help achieve just that goal."

The unique part of the campaign comes in the last TVC before every WC match with a ‘:15 second break bumper in featuring Gabriel, the boy representing Holland in their WC tournament, as he reveals the Nation’s predictions according to the results from the online pool.

The entire spot is set to the especially composed high-energy Brazilian inspired track Le Leo by the infamous Dutch electronic trio Kraak & Smaak, featuring Lilian Vieira, and available for download on iTunes.

The digital platform, developed by MediaMonks, is supported by TVC, a mini documentary, radio, OOH, print and communication in the ING offices. Another element is the ‘ING BN-er Panel’ (composed of different Dutch celebrities and/or football experts) providing daily updates in the newspapers forecasting their own outcome to ‘ What’s It Going To Be?’ and further fuelling the Dutch football frenzy.

Credits

Client: ING The Netherlands 

Johan van der Zanden (Director of Communications) 

Louise Meijer (Manager Marketing and Communications) 

Agency: JWT Amsterdam 

Bas Korsten (ECD) 

David Navarro (Head of Design/Interactive Director)

Digital: MediaMonks