People in Latin America believe salt brings bad luck. In countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, the words ‘salt’ or ‘salty’ refers to someone or something with bad luck.

During the World Cup qualification, Cris-Sal - Ecuador’s salt leader- wanted to support its country. Still, due to the superstition around the product, its sponsorship was denied by the Ecuadorian Federation of Football (FEF). Nonetheless, Cris-Sal and its agency ParadaisDDB found an opportunity amidst the problem by leveraging the superstition and supporting Ecuador’s rivals to give them bad luck. The brand posted messages inside and outside the stadiums, wishing good luck to the team that played against Ecuador, before and during the day of the match thus, ‘Unlucky Sponsor’ was born.

Cris-Sal carried out this action created and executed by ParadaisDDB, which developed several interventions repeatedly during different matches across Latin America by using the local language, dialect, or slang. Cris-Sal conducted its campaign in public places such as the iconic Obelisk Plaza in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s downtown, and inside the stadiums during important matches such as the one held against Brazil.

Luckily for Ecuador (and Cris-Sal), the team qualified for the World Cup with the unprecedented results of winning against Chile as a visitor for the first time, defeating Colombia with a historical six to one result, and beating Uruguay for the first time in five years.

“Most brands talk about football as an outsider, but, for Ecuadorian fans, Cris-Sal was a part of the match with the power to influence the scoreboard. The success of this campaign depended on Ecuador qualifying to the World Cup, so we applaud -as always- the bravery of Cris-Sal for daring to make such a fresh and fun idea,” shares Agustín Febres-Cordero, chief creative chairman of ParadaisDDB Ecuador.