Launched on 13 June as the 2018 FIFA World Cup got under way, Domino’s Uk launched a campaign fronted by former footballer Jimmy Bullard that aims to position the brand as offering the food of choice for Russia 2018.
The campaign sees Bullard lament England’s previous World Cup failures: specifically reflecting on the retired player’s failure to ever make it to the tournament.
The tongue-in-cheek creative features Bullard perform mundane household tasks during the tournament – from mending fences and hoovering to playing midnight Subbuteo – all linked to the campaign tagline ‘Staying at Home for International Tournaments’.
The campaign is spearheaded by a set of five films.
The ambush works links to the wider Domino’s brand motto ‘The Official Food of Everything’ (which it first introduced back in September 2017).
The reach of the campaign is extended through a media partnership with Sport Bible – which is helping seed the content across YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well as through CRM.
The pizza chain campaign, developed in harness with creative agency VCCP, revolves around the theme of many talented footballers never having made it to the World Cup.
“Who better to represent the true spirit of watching the football from the comfort of your own home, than with Jimmy Bullard, one of the best players to never play for England. What Jimmy lacks in national team caps he more than makes up for in his ability to deliver deadpan lines to camera, and laugh at himself in the process,” explained Domin’s sales and marketing director Tony Holdway.
“A brilliant campaign with a fantastic front man, that we hope our customers will love as they watch the undoubted football highs and lows in the coming weeks.”
Comment:
This is a comic campaign built on endorser’s Bullard’s humour and character, but there is nevertheless something a little agonising and even heart-breaking about Bullard’s understated performances.
Bullard was never capped at a major tournament and this initiative sees him playfully mock himself for never having made it on the biggest stage.
But there is something a touch sad about this comment creative.
The World Cup typically throws up a few titanic struggles between rivals and this plays out in the ambush marketing – particularly in certain soccer relevant sectors such as beer, betting and pizza delivery.
In the UK, this Domino’s pizza play took on Papa John’s ‘Keep Clam And Kammy On’ ambush (see case study).
Links:
Domino’s
https://twitter.com/Dominos_UK
https://www.youtube.com/user/DominosUK1?feature=watch
VCCP
