The payments brand aimed to leverage World Cup fever in Latin America and the Caribbean with a kids cause initiative that set out to see company provide 10,000 meals to starving children (through to the World Food Programme) for every goal scored by Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr during Russia 2018 and for the next two seasons.
The financial services and technology company, which sponsors both players and the Brazilian Football Confederation, trumpeted the link between soccer star goals and meal donations to try and create empathy with football fans and to position itself as a supporter of social good.
Mastercard publicised the campaign, which backs the World Food Programme, on its Twitter account for the Latin America and Caribbean regions two weeks before the tournament kick-off.
Goals that changes lives: for each goal scored by Messi or Neymar Jr. Mastercard will donate the equivalent of 10,000 meals to @WFP to fight childhood hunger and malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean #TogetherWeAre10 #StartSomethingPriceless https://t.co/URfIp77ElN pic.twitter.com/Ckq61oJgld
— Noticias Mastercard (@MastercardLAC) May 31, 2018
Other strands of the campaign included donating the equivalent of one school meal each time the campaign’s #JuntosSomos10 hashtag is shared on social media, plus a further 10 meals supplied for every donation made through the initiative’s digital web hub.
The initiative was due to start with the World Cup and run until March 2020.
A Mastercard statement PR comment explained: “For each goal scored by Lionel Messi or Neymar from now until March 2020, MasterCard will donate the equivalent of 10,000 meals to the World Food Programme to fight childhood hunger and malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
“I’m proud to be a part of this campaign that will help change the lives of thousands of children in my country and other regions of the world,” added Messi.
“I hope this initiative gives as many smiles as possible to all the children.”
Comment:
This initiative certainly generated plenty of debate: most of it critical as players, pundits and the marketing industry all loudly panned the project.
Even Brazil’s coach Tite expressed his criticisms of the campaign during a 2 June press conference: “Mastercard, I will tell you something. This donation is very beautiful. It is beautiful and great. And it will still be if you give meals if every Argentina and Brazil player scores. Here we work as a team, and with all these values it can be a little frustrating.”
Easily the worst marketing I’ve ever seen. This seriously got through the different levels of management, and you all said go ahead https://t.co/uPbGU9VH0H
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) June 2, 2018
After all, if the brand truly cared, then why not simply give the meals away rather than make a marketing campaign about it?
This is a campaign not only saw plenty of backlash around the world, but it also proves that the old adage ‘all publicity is good publicity’ wrong!
It’s not quite the worst marketing campaign we’ve ever seen, but it may just win the Russia 2018 World Cup worst marketing own goal’ trophy.
Mastercard’s initial response the early criticism was to issue a statement saying: “The campaign is running in Latin America, not here in the UK or Europe. This campaign is a small part of our overall global commitment to deliver 100 million meals to those in need of food assistance.
Mastercard is a firm supporter of the great work done by WFP and over the last five years we have driven a multi-million dollar investment in the agency’s life-saving work. We are proud to be the single largest private sector supporter of this agency. And we have the opportunity to use our brand and our brand ambassadors to raise awareness of this important cause.”
Then, a few days after the launch, MasterCard said it would change the campaign and that instead it would simply donate a million meals will be donated in 2018 regardless of how many goals the two super stars scored in Russia.
While Messi and Neymar will both continue to cooperate for the campaign.
“We don’t want the fans, players or anyone else to lose focus of the crucial question of hunger and our efforts to help this cause,” Mastercard said in a statement in Brazil.
Mastercard’s summer of soccer marketing work actually kicked-off back in mid February with the Pele led UEFA Champions League ‘Start Something Priceless’ initiative (see case study).
Mastercard is not a FIFA or Russia 2018 sponsor, but it does have a long heritage of football partnerships led by its sponsorship with the UEFA Champions League.
Links:
Mastercard
https://newsroom.mastercard.com/latin-america
https://twitter.com/MastercardLAC
