Snickers Unleashes the ‘Special One’ in Viking-Themed Football Epic

When Snickers enlist the help of a star, they do it in a big way. That’s why for their latest campaign, they’ve recruited the iconic and charismatic football manager José Mourinho, to dramatise how hunger makes us behave out-of-sorts.

Since 2010, Snickers has deployed a much-loved formula showing hunger-struck people being transformed into a not-so useful hungry version of themselves, from an alternate reality.

In the latest chapter of its long-standing global platform ‘You’re Not You When You’re Hungry’, the new Snickers blockbuster places the Portuguese tactician at the heart of a Viking battle scene.

José stars as a hungry version of a Viking leader. As a result of his hunger, the leader is acting out of sorts and instead of deploying stereotypically brutish communication skills, he starts to behave more like a modern-day tactician. The Vikings are confused by their leader's tactics, which include calls for patience and composure, and feature complex formations on a whiteboard.

Thankfully, one member of the Viking horde has a Snickers to hand, which he thrusts into the hands of José, transforming him back into a full-stomached, Viking leader.

Due to Jose's rich character on and off screen, the creative team alongside Shannon Murphy (BAFTA award winning director behind ‘Babyteeth’ and new BBC series ‘Dope Girls’) were able to inject plenty of ‘Special One’ nods, including a knockout game formation shift from 4-5-1 after a red card - to a team full of superstars named after ‘Bjørn’, like Bjørnaldo.

Fabio Ruffet, VP brands and content, Europe and Central Eurasia, Mars Snacking, said, ‘What makes Snickers special is having a platform that is, in its simplest terms, inherently Snickers. Everyone knows and loves the fact that Snickers is synonymous with 'You’re Not You When You're Hungry', so we're really excited to bring back this essence via our new creative. And what better person to make it extra special than the ‘Special One’ himself.’

​Andre Moreira, chief creative officer at T&Pm said, ‘Combining a horde of Vikings with the Special One was an epic experience in itself. And thanks to director Shannon Murphy, who blended gritty production design with perfectly timed comedic performances, it looks epic too.’

This ATL forms the first in a series of Snickers football campaigns over the next few months. Future instalments include Spanish footballing sensation Aitana Bonmati tackling the issue of hunger-induced ‘Falling Over’ (or as some call it, ‘diving’), as well as English football star Bukayo Saka on ‘Hangry Gaming’, teaming up with Angry Ginge. Each instalment will give Snickers a platform to tackle humorous hunger-based issues in the footballing world on their social channels.