This Brazilian Toothpaste Brand is Sponsoring Just One Football Player in Campaign from VMLY&R

Sorriso, a Colgate Palmolive brand, is announcing an unprecedented partnership with the Red Bull Bragantino Football Club, to sponsor just one football player: Marcos Vinicios, known as Sorriso, which stands for 'smile' in Portuguese. This is the first time in Brazilian history that a brand and a football club developed a sponsorship strategy for just one player and one jersey of a professional team. The idea, conceived by VMLY&R, will have the striker as the only member of the team to have Sorriso’s logo printed on the shirt - instead of his registered name - during the Brazilian Championship matches.   

"I always have a smile stamped on my face and I believe it has healing powers. However, not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the strength of the nickname. Today, I am sponsored by Sorriso, a brand is in Brazilian’s heart, representing a positive message in its origin. I couldn't be prouder," says Marcos Vinicios.   

Marcos Vinicios, 21, won over the brand and the supporters through his skills on and off the field, such as speed, dribbling, daring and his great charisma. As proof, the athlete prepared a good-natured tribute to celebrate, together with fans, the possible goals of his own during matches. He promises to reproduce the dance step of the newest Sorriso campaign, 'Refresca e Borah!'. 

“The brand understands innovation as one of the main ways to meet the needs of Brazilian consumers. Sorriso sponsoring Sorriso is unusual, as he is the only one on the team to receive this support, which makes the project disruptive, in addition to being the biggest brand-match in football history,” says Nelson Malta, marketing director for Colgate-Palmolive in Brazil. 

The partnership between Sorriso, Red Bul Bragantino and the soccer star Sorriso is part of the 'Refresca e Borah!' campaign, created by agency VMLY&R. The initiative presents a film with a funk beat, to reinforce the brand's 'Brazilianness' DNA, in the voice of Mc Don Juan, a singer who has more than 5 billion views on YouTube. 

"Placing a brand in the space of the shirt dedicated to the player's name is a unique media opportunity that we knew how to take advantage of by using all the lightness and jester side of the Sorriso brand," comments Rafael Pitanguy, CCO of VMLY&R.  

Exclusive shirt, a treasure to collectors  

In this idea, Sorriso bets on the powerful love Brazilians have for soccer and on the happy coincidence between the brand's name and the soccer star's nickname. Aiming to generate word-of-mouth both on and off the field, shirts identical to the one worn by the player were made as a limited edition for collectors - there will be only 400 pieces for the project. 

Athletes, fans, the club and the brand, as well as famous and important figures in the sports world, will be called to participate in the action through activations promoted in the stadium and in social media during the sponsorship period. Dozens of them will take home the rare piece. For the initial kick-off, the brand count on influencer Casimiro. The streamer heats up the interactions with the audience in a relaxed way by promoting conversation with the club about the sponsorship action.   

As a digital media strategy, the campaign will feature video ads on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Youtube. Offline, the action will have merchandising in sports programs on Band TV, SBT, and Bandeirantes Radio.