Speak to a Brazilian right now, and most will tell you there’s little else going on in their country other than the FIFA World Cup currently. “At the moment we (I mean the whole country, literally) are 100% focused on [the football] – so no other news,” one friend from an agency in Rio working with Coca-Cola told us.
On social that might particularly seem the case – during the Brazil x Chile match, 390,000 tweets were posted per minute, the highest number ever recorded during a sporting event on the platform.
The main brand players (in terms of share of voice) are inevitably the likes of adidas, Coca-Cola, Nike et al. But a handful of those from the luxury space have embarked on the odd World Cup initiative too in a bid to garner both local and global association with the event. Here’s a little round up of how…
Louis Vuitton was commissioned by FIFA to design the World Cup trophy trunk – a monogrammed, 18-carat gold, malachite and brass ensemble. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen will present the trophy to the winning teamThe Tod’s campaign ‘I Cheer For My Colors’ follows a similar concept – accessories in different countries’ colour-ways are available for purchaseAs part of #FriendshipFriday, Monica Vinader suggested football fans stack their friendship bracelets to reflect the colours of their team’s flag – some great imagery accompanied over socialLacoste created a capsule collection called Rio, inspired by Brazil and the Brazilian coloursHublot launched its ‘Hublot Loves Football’ campaign. Its UNICO Bi-Retrograde model is also this year’s official World Cup watchCalvin Klein tapped Brazilian football player Oscar Emboaba as the face of its new underwear and denim campaignsTissot is running an Instagram competition using the hashtag #MyTissot. The prize: watches in colours to match the different participating countries’ flagsGucci’s three-week ‘Forever Now’ exhibition, using pieces loaned from their Museo in Florence, arrived in São Paulo at the right time for the World CupAlexander McQueen created its own interpretation of the PUMA King cleats. Only 100 pairs exist, all of which will be gifted to friends of the two brandsKarl Lagerfeld in collaboration with plastic footwear brand Melissa, also created some footwear in the spirit of the World Cup; sandals adorned with a miniature footballAnd in true team spirit, numerous brands have not just acted for their own benefit, but leveraged their creative talent to support children in Brazil too. The Make Kids Happy campaign, under the organisation of Luisa Via Roma and adidas, saw various luxury brands designing their own versions of the FIFA football. These were then auctioned off on eBay on June 16 and proceeds went to the Brazilian Gol de Letra Foundation. Participating designers included Dolce & Gabbana, Balmain, Cavalli, Missoni and MCM, as well as Giuseppe Zanotti shown here.
Rachel Arthur is Editor-in-Chief of Current Daily, the leading news source for fashion, retail and innovation, and the co-host of its weekly Innovators podcast. She otherwise serves as Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Current Global, a transformation consultancy driving growth within fashion luxury and retail. By background she is an award-winning business journalist and consultant, contributing to titles including Wired, Forbes and Business of Fashion.
