Azrieli "VAR Time"

In the months leading up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Leo Burnett Israel got the attention of local football fans with a sales promotion centered around the highly anticipated implementation of VAR in the tournament. The arrival of Video Assistant Referees were a source of passionate debate and discussion across the world, as the use video replay technology had the potential to change the outcome of games and affect the course of the tournament. The iconic gesture used by referees on field, calling for VAR reviews is also synonymous with how people indicate a TV screen, and the agency decided to use this as the basis for a promotional campaign.

Each time a referee in the final World Cup championship match indicated that they wanted a VAR review, Azrieli’s ecommerce website would reward the first 5 viewers who texted Azrieli a free large screen TV. This popular initiative drove traffic to the new site, and helped grow the conversation around Azrieli’s offerings.