Snickers: Snickers

Credits & Description:

Brand MARS
ALMAPBBDO Sao Paulo, Brazil Entrant Company
ALMAPBBDO Sao Paulo, Brazil Idea Creation
ALMAPBBDO Sao Paulo, Brazil Production
SENTIMENTAL FILME Sao Paulo, Brazil Production
RAW AUDIO Sao Paulo, Brazil Production
ALMAPBBDO Sao Paulo, Brazil PR
ALMAPBBDO Sao Paulo, Brazil Media Placement
Luiz Sanches AlmapBBDO Partner/Chief Creative Officer
Bruno Prosperi AlmapBBDO Executive Creative Director
Bruno Prosperi AlmapBBDO Creative Director
Andre Gola AlmapBBDO Creative Director
Keka Morelle AlmapBBDO Creative Director
Marcelo Nogueira AlmapBBDO Creative Director
Pernil AlmapBBDO Creative Director
Henrique Del Lama AlmapBBDO Art Director
Fernando Duarte AlmapBBDO Copywriter
Marcello Lima Sentimental Filme Director
Hilton Raw Raw Áudio Sound Producer
Vera Jacinto AlmapBBDO Agency Producer
Diego Villas Boas AlmapBBDO Agency Producer
Vanuza Passos AlmapBBDO Agency Producer
Camilla Massari AlmapBBDO Accounts VP
Pedro Fragata AlmapBBDO Account Director
Fernanda Portugal AlmapBBDO Account Executive
Cintia Gonçalves AlmapBBDO Partner/Chief Strategic Officer
João Gabriel Fernandes AlmapBBDO Planning VP
Dale Green Mars Approval
Oduvaldo Viana Mars Approval
Synopsis
Snickers is not an official World Cup sponsor. Even so, it wanted to use the event, and the sport itself, to increase its sales and brand affinity. But FIFA is really strict about brands taking advantage of its main event.
Strategy
First we warmed up the subject, by making Ronaldo post some sympathetic post about Argentina's team and players. Then we tookhim to the stadium in a privileged spot, right in front of the photographers, wearing a Argentina scarf and cheering for Argentina (Eventhough they lost 6-1, tough luck). On the same day that Brazil was playing Germany. Of course the media caught him. Of course social media went crazy. Of course the Brazilians went to Ronaldo's Instagram looking for blood. And he had to stay social-media quiet for 24 hours, enduring a lot of insults, to then reveal personally that it was all a campaign. Launching a branded film through his personal account.
Outcome
The stunt was featured in more than 265 media outlets around the world. The hashtag #wtfronaldo became a trending topic in Brazil, on a day that Brazil was playing Germany for the first time since its 7-1 loss, and Argentina lost to Spain by 6-1. The earned media was about 10 times the initial media investment and impacted more than 60 million people.
Execution
Ronaldo posted a few times, clearly sympathizing with Brazil’s most hated rival: Argentina. Then he went to an Argentina match, on the same day of a Brazil-Germany match. The media caught him and social media went crazy. Then he kept silent on social media for 24 hours, before launching a brand film, where he cheered for for Argentina until a friend gave him a Snickers, making him regret his actions immediately. It was the first time that a brand launched a whole campaign through a personal Instagram account.
Campaign Description
The concept “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry” is widely known, but rarely executed in real life. And never at a live event.
And that's what we did – we put a big Brazilian celebrity, the former World Cup champion, Ronaldo, to cheer on Brazil’s most hated rival, Argentina, at a pre-World Cup friendly match. We would only reveal that it was a stunt when the mass media campaign got launched 24 hours later.