Why This Print Ad Places Ecuador at the Centre of All Football Pitches

Pilsener, the largest beer brand in Ecuador, launches a campaign created by MullenLowe Delta that uses the geographical location of the country, in the centre of the world, to say that the Ecuador national football team is in Qatar 2022. The ads show the equator line as if they were the midfield centre line of all eight stadiums that the teams will play. 

Pilsener published the first front-page ad in a Qatar newspaper and Ecuadorians living there began to quickly spread the news.

A few minutes later, Pilsener launched its campaign on its social media and billboards.

"Bringing the news to an international front page in Qatar is a tribute that Pilsener pays to our national team and our fans, who are an essential part of Ecuadorian pride," adds Alejandro Molina, head of marketing.

Pilsener has been working as a sponsor of the Ecuadorian National Team for many years. The idea was to show the world a tribute to ‘La Tri’ (as Ecuadorians call their national team) to celebrate its classification, but the campaign had to be done differently because it is a time when all brands talk about the same topic.

“If you look closely at the centre of a soccer field, you can clearly see that Ecuador is right in the middle. We take advantage of this finding to create a graphic campaign that makes more than one Ecuadorian proud” explained José Lizarzaburu and Rodrigo Mejía, creative directors of MullenLowe Delta.

MullenLowe Delta has been working hand in hand with Pilsener in alliance with the Ecuadorian soccer team in renowned campaigns such as: ‘Ecuadorian Superstitions’, ‘Women's Day’, among others. This project in particular had to be very special because not every day does your national team qualify for a World Cup.

Eddy Cepeda, Pilsener’s brand manager, also adds that: "We wanted to do something unique, since, unlike many other countries, ours is in the centre of the world. So why not be in the same country that organises the World Cup? Let us be the news, and above it all, let them know that we are ready to make history in Qatar.”

The Ecuadorian Classification continues to give something to talk about in national and international media. Even players of the National Team such as Archer Galíndez proudly share on their social media platforms the ad in Arabic that appeared in the Al Sharq newspaper of Qatar.