What happens when samba-skilled soccer superstar Neymar challenges tyre-shredding driving ace Ken Block?
Castrol Footkhana – that’s what!
Late April saw Castrol move up a gear, literally, in its Brazil 2014 activation
Castrol, an Official Sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, brought together the football striker and the Gymkhana rally racing driver for the planet’s first #Footkhana competition.
Block’s rally car is, of course, powered by Castrol’s Edge (boosted with TITANIUM FST).
Who wins? Watch #NeymarJRvBlock to find out.
According to Unruly Media’s Viral Video Chart, this turbo-charged, experimental, all-action spot has immediately become the most shared World Cup ad ever (ahead of Coca-Cola’s 2014 ‘The World’s Cup’ ad and Nike’s 2010 ‘Write The Future’ blockbuster).
Even the first of the campaign’s two 30-second trailers was ranked the ninth most shared viral of the week with 22,241 shares.
Both football and motorsport fans can support Neymar Jr or Ken Block by registering online at castrol.com/Footkhana.
Brazil star and Castrol brand ambassador Neymar is fronting a series of YouTube films which form the core of Castrol’s activation before the tournament actually kicks off.
Once the tournament starts the focus of the sponsor’s work will switch towards its ‘Castrol Index’.
This Index, operating in partnership with FIFA and running on the rights owner’s website, sees Castrol apply the pioneering approach to technology and data analysis it uses on developing its motor oils to the football space to create the definitive system for rating player performance.
Using tracking technology to capture player-specific data – including tackles, passes, movement, speed, acceleration and accuracy – which is then analysed by a team of Castrol Performance Analysts to see if it has a positive or negative impact on a team’s ability to score or concede a goal.
This system, which was used previously by the brand at the FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, sees each player awarded a score out of 10 (the stronger the player’s performance, the higher their score).
In 2009, Brazil’s Lucio topped the Castrol Index and in 2010 it was Spain’s Sergio Ramos who won.
Can Castrol’s own Brazil 2014 ambassador Neymar lift this year’s title?
(Or will it be the sponsor’s brand’s long-term global brand face Ronaldo?)
Neymar was unveiled as Castrol’s 2014 World Cup brand ambassador back in February after signing a 12-month deal that see him (and his fancy tricks and flicks) act as the face of Castrol’s World Cup promotions.
The partnership was brokered in consultation with Rhodri Burgess of Wasserman Media Group, who previously worked with the sponsor on secure the partnership services of fellow footballers Ronaldo, Cafu and Desailly.
The brand aims to draw synergies between how Neymar’s talent pushes the boundaries and sets new standard, just like Castrol’s own pioneering approach to fuels and oils.
As, according to Global Marketing VP S Ramchander, Castrol sees see a great synergy between Neymar and Block’s pioneering spirits and what our brand stands for.
The #Footkhana spot is actually one of several web films fronted by Newymar as he leads a team of world champions freestyle footballers (including Sean Garnier)
And with #Footkhana, Block joins Neymar as a member of the Castrol Freestyle Team.
There is also a special appearance by Brazilian legend and World Cup winning captain Cafu – who appears in the core commercial and goes for a ride-along with Block in added content.
‘It has been amazing to work with Ken Block and the other freestylers, bringing our skills together in this Castrol experiment,’ says Neymar. ‘I can’t wait for football fans to see our freestyle tricks in action as we go head-to-head against Ken and his car.’
‘I’m stoked to be partnered up with Castrol again this season,’ adds Block, who will also be featuring in a number of upcoming Castrol campaigns over the next 12 months.
‘I’m also very excited to have this opportunity to work with Neymar Jr, as well as the freestyle guys on this film. All of them are as passionate about their sport as I am about mine, so to have all of us working together on this project has made for some great results.’
‘Both Neymar Jr and Ken Block have demonstrated amazing levels of skill in their respective sports and we,’ comments Castrol’s Ramchander. ‘Our sponsorship of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has given us the perfect opportunity to pair up Ken with Neymar Jr to bring to life Castrol’s passion for superior performance, innovation and football.’
Comment
Since its 22 April launch, the #Footkhana film has racked up almost 11 million YouTube views and more than 736,615 social shares – including 481,979 shares on Twitter and 254,623 on Facebook.
Thus, according to the Viral Video Chart, ensuring the Castrol’s Neymar-led World Cup ad was not only top of last week’s viral charts, but also the most shared World Cup spot of all time.
An impressive achievement for a brand that, despite lacking the obvious glamour of some of FIFA’s other long-term partners, has a long heritage of football partnership: from its status as official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and FIFA’s Confederations Cup, plus its backing for UEFA’s Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 tournaments and its partnerships with notable soccer stars – such as Ronaldo and the 2010 ‘Challenge Ronaldo’ initiative,
Its Castrol Rankings, Challenge Ronaldo, Castrol Predictor and Castrol Index were just some of the initiatives within its previous 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign, while it added other tools such as a Live Match Calculator, Tournament Planner and Team Hubs (showcasing performance predictions) were introduced at Euro 2012.
The lubricant brand’s Brazil 2014 YouTube films to date are principally about entertainment, while its Castrol Index is more of a utility providing new perspectives and fresh insights into the game using the company’s expertise in technology and analysis.
The activation objective is to continue its ongoing approach of creating a clear association with the sport and engage football fans and clients around the concept of high performance.
On a global, strategic scale, Castrol aims to use its rights to raise awareness and build relationships with its business clients.
Castrol is one of eight FIFA World Cup Sponsors – the second tier of the rights owner’s partnership segments – along with Budweiser, Continental, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Moy Park, Oi and Yingli.
While Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai, Emirates, Sony & Visa make up the premier tier of FIFA Partners.
The third tier consists of a group of eight host nation National Supporters.
This current sponsorship model was created in 2007 and runs through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It is reported to have generated around US$1.4bn from the 20 companies for the current World Cup cycle.
Compared to an income of US$2.6bn from worldwide TV rights.
Links
Castrol Edge Football Website
http://castroledge.com/football
Castrol Football Website
http://castroledge.com/uk/football/
Castrol on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/castrol
Castrol On Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/castrol
FIFA Website
Wasserman Media Group
