Days ahead of the 2023 Playoffs, the NFL’s official soup brand Campbell’s Chunky launched the ‘Chunky FuelUp Tournament’: a cross-branded, multi-player, football-themed, branded gaming activation taking place within Fortnite.
The activation, an extension of Campbell’s long-running stint as the ‘Official Soup Sponsor of the NFL’, is a branded virtual gaming experience hosted inside ‘Fortnite Creative’: a Fortnite mode that enables players to create their own games on so-called ‘Creative Islands’.
Launched just two days before the 2023 NFL Playoffs kicked off, the soup brand’s Fortnite activation is built around three unique challenges to test players’ speed, agility, and accuracy. Each one incorporating an elements of American football: The Spicy Soup Sprint (running), the Protein Power Course (juking) and the Hearty Hail Mary (throwing).
Campbell’s Chunky’s football, metaverse and livestream mash-up – which runs from 11 January to 3 February – was created in partnership with Spark Foundry (Campbell’s media agency of record) and Beyond Creative (a Fortnite creative developer studio).
The in-game tournament includes drivers to encourage gamers to engage with brand on its own website and on Twitch.
Anyone aged 18-plus can play in the ‘Chunky FuelUp Tournament’ and compete for a chance to win signed NFL merchandise, tickets to NFL games and get a name-check by super star Twitch streamer and YouTuber Nickmercs. The tournament expands beyond Fortnite by incentivizing players to share their high scores on a dedicated website at ChunkyGaming.com to be eligible for the prizes.
The overall winner, determined through a 8 February live final event between the top scorers streamed on Nickmercs’ Twitch channel (which has 6.6m followers), will be named the ‘Chunky MVP’.
The tournament was promoted through a digital-first campaign led by a hero spot which dropped on 11 January.
“Launching a Chunky metaverse experience is another step forward for the brand to intersect sports and culture,” explained VP Of Integrated Marketing at Campbell’s Meals and Beverages Marci Raible. “As we leverage our 25-year NFL partnership, this activation allows Chunky to connect with the gaming audience and offer an innovative brand interaction.”
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How does a soup brand activate its official NFL sponsorship? In Fortnite of course!
This gaming initiative is part of the brand’s integrated NFL activation programme which also includes ticket giveaways, community cause initiatives, player meet-and-greets, ambassador focused content and more.
Fortnite, like Roblox, has become a popular brand destination for companies (including Axe, Timberland and Wendy’s, plus the NFL Zone itself) seeking to jump on the early metaverse bandwagon and engage its (mostly younger) 252.5m players.
Other notable sports marketing Fortnite initiatives include the NBA’s ‘The Crossover’ and Verizon’s ‘Super Bowl Stadium’.
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