FIFA world cup - 2014

 

Football world cup is here. Football or soccer as it is popularly called is the moist popular sport in the world. It is a much awaited carnival that comes once in four years. It has steadfast followers  throughout the world. It is watched by billions on TV. Thus it is not surprising that the world GDP takes s dip when the Football world cup in on. Many watchers do not go  to the office the next day (after a bout of football watching the night before). 

Let us examine two innovative campaigns that aim to cash in on the football craze.

Coca-Cola’s:  World Cup 2014 promotional campaign has been launched with 18 mini bottles. These bottles contain no actual soda but each of the bottles can communicate messages and avatars to another bottle in the range.

The designs of the bottles pay tribute to 18 World Cup’s host countries from the past and future—the tiny bottles feature national flags and well-recognized visual motifs of the countries like Brazil, Argentina, Japan, and others. The collectible bottles can be attached to bags or phones as bright accessories.

The bottles come as an interactive platform as well. Using Facebook or iPhone and Android apps, soccer and Coke fans can create special messages and pictures that can be sent to and displayed on other bottles. Additionally, the markers integrated into the design of the bottles can open up as augmented reality animations when scanned with smartphones.

McDonald’s:  is changing the look of their iconic red and yellow French fries packaging globally with bold, new artwork to celebrate the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2014 football. tournament in Brazil. This new package will be called  ‘Fans of the World’.

 

The redesigned fries boxes will be the key to ‘unlocking’ a new Augmented Reality (AR) game app that will reward customers with an engaging, virtual trick-shot football challenge. Created for McDonald’s in collaboration with Qualcomm Connected Experiences and augmented reality specialists Trigger, the new McDonald’s GOL! app will be available for most mobile Android/Apple smartphone or tablet devices on the Google Play and Apple App stores.

Customers have to download the GOL! app and begin play as soon as they have their specially-designed McDonald’s fries packaging in-hand. It’s as easy as holding the screen of their mobile device up to the front of the box. As the device automatically recognizes the artwork, a football pitch will appear in an augmented reality scene on the screen, with the fries box as the goal and other built-in objects as obstacles. The idea is to ‘kick’ the ball with the flick of a finger and divert or use obstacles to get the ball into the goal.

This is the first time in its history that McDonald is change its package design of one of its most popular menu items – the French fries. And it is apt that they have chosen the FIFA world cup 2014 to do it.

Steve Easterbrook, senior executive VP and global chief brand officer at McDonald’s says “This is about bringing fun, innovative programming to our customers and celebrating our shared love of football. We’re excited to be able to do that through an engaging, interactive mobile experience, and of course with our world famous fries.”