Art Of Football (AOF), a UK-based football clothing, apparel and artwork brand, celebrated the commitment of England fans during the World Cup through a photoshoot led campaign ‘Warm Flags’.
Teaming up with independent creative agency The Or to leverage the first Winter World Cup, the campaign was built around a fashion industry, editorial style photoshoot directed by British-Iranian documentary photographer Aria Shahrokhshahi and featuring some of England’s most dedicated fans.
The resulting images – which feature a vibrant cast of supporters from all segments of England’s fanbase – showcase fan culture and the raw emotions of backing the national team from agony to ecstasy.
Leveraging spiking soccer interest around the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup and referencing the fact that this is the first ever Winter World Cup for the northern hemisphere – which means watching in cold beer gardens and wet fan zones – AOF’s ‘Warm Flags’ uses a recognisable emblem of England football fandom with an added ‘quilted’ layer of warmth to keep fans outside enjoying the matches as if it were summer. This bespoke, quilted St George’s flag was designed by Molly Sellars and is worn and used by fans to keep warm whilst supporting the Three Lions.
The fan photoshoot included shots highlighting the wearable tech of the flag: including its frost proof, waterproof and beer-proof qualities and the images formed a campaign that ran across social, digital and PR platforms.
WARM FLAG GIVE AWAY:
We teamed up with @theorldn and Molly Sellars to create a one of a kind 'Warm Flag' to keep you cosy while supporting England from the pub garden or fanzone.
To win, Follow us and Tag a mate below
Comp runs until Nov 28th both here and on our Insta! pic.twitter.com/ap9YzZNFgz
— Art of Football (@Art_of_Football) November 14, 2022
A dedicated ‘Warm Flags’ Instagram page (@warmflags) amplifies behind-the-scenes content from the photoshoot and additional supporting campaign assets.
Plus, a competition/list building strand of the campaign saw AOF and The Or give away the one-of-a-kind, bespoke England warm flag to supporter. To be in with a chance ti win, entrants simply need to follow @art_of_football on Instagram, like and comment on their post announcing Warm Flags. The competition will run from 14 November until 28 November.
WARM FLAG GIVE AWAY:
We teamed up with @theorldn and Molly Sellars to create a one of a kind 'Warm Flag' to keep you cosy while supporting England from the pub garden or fanzone.
To win, Follow us and Tag a mate below
Comp runs until Nov 28th both here and on our Insta! pic.twitter.com/ap9YzZNFgz
— Art of Football (@Art_of_Football) November 14, 2022
Art Of Football Managing Director Luke Cuthbert said: “The World Cup will provide fans around the country with the moments that make us all fall in love with the beautiful game. At AOF we are passionate about making football culture a lifestyle. This project brings this to life naturally, creating a flag fit to support the 3 Lions whatever the weather. It was great fun to be a part of.
“There’s nothing quite like the England fan, especially during a World Cup. There’s a real sense of unity, excitement and celebration,” commented The Or Creatives Tom Snell and Dylan Hartigan. “ And of course, there’s always someone who gets their kit off. We didn’t want the cold weather to stop England’s most dedicated fans from supporting England as they normally would in the summer. So, a warm flag seemed like the logical choice.”
Comment
This is our second favourite photo image led campaign leveraging Qatar 22 after Louis Vuitton’s Annie Leibovitz shot ‘Victory Is A State Of Mind’ campaign.
AOF positions itself as a creative community focused football with a self-declared mission ‘to inspire creative expression and celebrate originality, togetherness and passion in football’. It originally focused on creating original football artwork for T-shirts and hoodies, as well as reworking logos into football insignia; think beer mats inspired by the Class of 92, or the Ralph Lauren teddy bear wearing a Newcastle kit.
Its previous brand collaborations include initiatives with Budweiser and FIFA 22.
1 goal = 1 custom bottle@Budweiser are sending a personalised bottle of beer for every goal Messi has scored, to each keeper he’s scored past. That’s 644. The most goals scored by one player for on club…ever.
Kings aren’t made overnight. #BeAKing
— Art of Football (@Art_of_Football) December 24, 2020
It has since expanded into vintage football apparel, team- and player-inspired clothing, original art work and football shirts.
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