The first advertising campaign for Nissan’s new relationship with UEFA has launched. Nissan is the official global automotive sponsor of the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Champions League, with a partnership that will cover the seasons 2014/15 to 2017/18.
The global advertising campaign titled ”Engineers of Excitement” is created by TBWA. Led by Amsterdam based agency United State of Fans\TBWA, supported by TBWA\G1 in Paris and \NissanUnited, it spans TV, print, outdoor, digital and brand activation. The campaign launched during the first group stage matches.
The campaign’s key creative idea plays on the excitement fuelling automotive and football worlds, and blends them into an extensive brand experience. The stars of this integrated campaign are true Engineers of Excitement: three-time UEFA Champions League winner, Andrés Iniesta and Paris Saint-Germain captain, Thiago Silva. As two of Nissan's new official brand ambassadors, the players will have a key role in Nissan's global campaign. With the global “Engineers of Excitement” campaign Nissan features three innovative car models: Nissan GT-R NISMO (the world’s fastest production car); Nissan LEAF (the world’s best-selling electric car) and Nissan Qashqai.
The main campaign films give football fans the opportunity to follow the two players and three Nissan car models as they undergo tests in a Nissan test lab, resembling the brand’s real innovation centres. We see Thiago Silva and Andrés Iniesta kicking the ball through a car window and both footballers passing the ball via a giant wind turbine, as well as Thiago Silva trying to hit a car blindfolded. There are six tests in total: two ‘wind tunnel tests’, two ‘precision tests’, one ‘blindfold test’ and the ‘cone test’, all showcasing the immaculate football technique and Nissan engineering.
The films are directed by Henry Alex-Rubin from Smuggler. You can view two of the spots here and here.
As well as the films, the campaign features key print and OOH images that combine the signature moves of Iniesta and Silva and the Nissan models with engineered graphic overlays, demonstrating how football and automotive come together in innovative engineering.
Ben Hartman, ECD of United State of Fans\TBWA said about the idea: “Cars and football. Genius! Nissan’s arrival as UEFA Champions League sponsor was a dream brief for us at United State of Fans\TBWA. It was another chance to demonstrate our understanding of what makes fans tick. The global platform idea we’ve landed at Nissan has already resulted in work to be proud of. We’re looking forward to continuing and growing the campaign over the coming seasons through digital, activations, dealerships and beyond.”
Next to TV and online film content, United State of Fans\TBWA together with DigitasLBi France created a digital Nissan brand platform that fans worldwide will be able to turn to for exciting news about the UEFA Champions League tournament’s latest and greatest moments as well as a sneak peek into Nissan’s innovation lab and behind the scenes of the campaign. The Nissan digital hub also serves as an interactive communication platform, where fans will be able to vote on the best and most #genius goals of Europe's most prestigious club football tournament. The ‘UEFA Champions League Goal of the Week’ competition was announced by Nissan and UEFA earlier this summer. Since September 18, 2014, fans are able to vote and interact with real time digital visualisations of the best goals of the tournament.
Gareth Dunsmore, General Manager Marketing Communications of Nissan Europe: “Partnering with the UEFA Champions League helps give Nissan the platform to highlight our innovation and the excitement that we create with our cars to consumers around the globe. Just like our engineers, top class footballers are at the peak of their profession and constantly look to innovate and excite on the field and it’s these shared principles that are captured in this campaign.”