3 of Football’s best PR stunts

Photo by Şemsi Belli from Pexels

By Jamie Kerr

The Euro’s may be wrapping up, but the presence will be felt in Germany for a while to come. The tournament, bringing together fans from all across Europe and creating unforgettable moments, has captured the hearts of the nation. With the eyes of the whole world on every International tournament, from the Euros, AFCON and Copa América to the World Cup, the emergence of unique, exciting and innovative campaigns for each tournament is a part of the process. These campaigns exhibit the value of truly knowing your target audience and their culture, each contributing to the story rather than capitalizing upon them. For this reason, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite PR stunts in football from across history. 

Tennents- A Race To Support Scotland

We start with a campaign from this year's tournament. Scotland may have been underwhelming on the pitch, but it was the fans who brought the party. Anyone who’s spent time with the Tartan Army knows their love for local drinks, like IRN BRU, but it’s a cold pint of Tennents that really gets the party started. The availability of the creamy headed lager in Germany is pretty much poor, however, Tennants decided to combat this just in time for Euro 2024. Along with a Youtube series tracking 3 teams of Scots journey to the tournament, they also launched across the country, launching a virtual map of where you can find the famous red ‘T’. For the Berliners amongst you that fancy a taste, get yourself down to HOME Bar. 

Wrexham’s own ‘Hollywood’ sign 

You may be familiar with the story of Wrexham AFC. The struggling lower-league Welsh outfit’s fortunes were turned entirely upside down after being purchased by Hollywood powerhouses Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Alongside the cash boost, the major increase in media coverage (including a Disney+ documentary) has helped propel the club to multiple promotions. What better way for a local company to capitalize than to install a giant ‘Hollywood’-esque sign spelling out the name of the market town. It was initially a mystery as to who installed the display, only to be uncovered to be local van-hire firm Dark Horses, making headlines across the UK. 

Ronaldinho’s crossbar challenge 

In 2006, a surreal video depicting Ballon d'Or winner playing ‘ping-pong’ with the crossbar became the first ever Youtube video to hit one million views. The viral video was an advert for Nike for their new boots, the Tiempo Air Legend 1’s. Discussion and debate surrounding the validity of the video continue to this day, 18 years later, as do discussions whether Ronaldinho’s pair featured solid gold. One of the original viral videos and a piece of football folklore, this stands as one of football’s most effective PR stunts ever, seemingly inspiring a number of imitators, including David Beckham’s famous Pepsi advert.  

With the amount of eyes that follow players, clubs and nations, the unique ways in which brands explore fan-culture and the narratives that emerge have become increasingly intertwined with the events themselves, with the best embedding themselves in the brains of football fans forever. Coming up with creative and unique angles has made brands a crucial part of the footballing experience, providing the perfect case study for all Comms folk. Recognizing the endless array of captivating stories that football provides, both on and off the pitch, opens the door to endless possibilities.