Despite appearing to be just a regular advert, as usual Nike brings in another dimension, this time including ‘hidden content’ within the video. Nike gives viewers the chance to engage and interact in a variety of ways by entering different ‘tunnels’, whether it’s viewing the biogs of some of the lesser known players or the chance to explore some unique content – such as this recently released viral video featuring Mario Balotelli.
Nike utilises its individual sponsorships, bringing big names such as Ronaldo and Iniesta to the forefront of the campaign. However, in keeping with the ‘hidden content’ theme of this ad, Nike not only uses its ambassadors’ faces to capture the world’s attention, the brand also offer viewers a further insight into its major stars, by revealing relevant and exciting content about each one.
Nike cleverly combines the excitement of both engaging and unexpected content making you want to watch the advert over and over again to be sure you don’t miss anything.
‘My Time Is Now’ was released on May 18th, and as of the end of the month had 14 million views…clearly I’m not the only one who loves this ad!!
How often do you hear the words ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’? It can be a bit of a cliché but in fact there are certain things that really are once in a lifetime…
This month Synergy has been working with clients GUINNESS and Betfair to offer rugby and football fans a dream come true scenario, the chance to play on the hallowed turf at Twickenham and Old Trafford.
GUINNESS, through their community programme Club Together, gave Birmingham Barbarians the chance of a lifetime to play on the pitch at Twickenham ahead of this year’s Aviva Premiership Final. Synergy was responsible for building a dream day the entire squad would never forget. Their day began with England coaches Brian Smith and Mike Ford putting the team through their paces in a dedicated training and warm-up session in Richmond. It was on to Twickenham and from two England coaches to the next as Graham Rowntree greeted the team bus. The teams walked through the Lion Gates and into the changing rooms where Graham lead a rousing team talk. Then it was through the infamous Twickenham tunnel and onto a pitch in perfect condition for the pros – Birmingham Barbarians were ready for the rugby match of a lifetime. Thirty minutes later the final score was a 5-5 draw. The lads came running off the field pumped full of adrenalin and buzzing after playing at the 80,000 capacity stadium knowing that an hour later the Premiership Final showdown would be kicking off.
As Birmingham Barbarians departed Twickenham it was onto Old Trafford for Synergy to create the ultimate experience for any football fan. With 16,069,210 Facebook likes to date Manchester United has one of the largest global fans bases of any football team and as official betting partner of the club, Betfair had invited 32 very special VIP guests from across Europe and the UK to enjoy the ultimate Theatre of Dreams experience…
Our guests were collected by a chauffeur driven car upon arrival into Manchester, and dropped off at the 5* hotel the Radisson Edwardian for lunch and the chance to meet their fellow team mates. Betfair’s guests donned their training kit and head to Manchester United’s exclusive training facility, Carrington, where the world class Manchester United Soccer Schools coaches and Manchester United legends, Brian McClair, Gary Pallister, Clayton Blackmore and Andy Ritchie where waiting to greet them and test their skills.
Following a solid three hour training session the teams were picked and team managers Brian McClair and Gary Pallister were ready to go head-to-head at Old Trafford the following day. With a big match ahead it was back to the hotel where guests would find their very own personalised 2011/12 season’s kit in their rooms, literally hot off the press as the kit had only launched the day beforehand!
Match day…with their new kit in tow Betfair’s guests were escorted to Manchester United’s home changing room where United legends and the Premier League trophy were awaiting their arrival. After an eagerly anticipated photo opportunity the teams lined up with team managers in the tunnel. As the Champions League music echoed through the tunnel our excited and nervous guests were lead through the Red Devils tunnel – an experience to never forget.
A full 90 minutes on the pitch at Old Trafford and a 9 – 4 victory for Gary Pallister’s away team over Brian McClair’s home side saw the teams exhausted but buzzing from the experience. After some down time for the guests there was one last surprise in store, dinner at Old Trafford overlooking the pitch hosted by none other than footballing legend Denis Law.
So there you have it, two of sports ultimate experiences delivered with every detail planned to the minute by Synergy’s experiential team. If anyone asks you ‘Do you know anyone who can make dreams come true?’ you know where to look…
This season Synergy was tasked to create a half time activity campaign using Betfair’s two football assets Manchester United and FC Barcelona. With two of the world’s most famous clubs it surely wasn’t going to be hard to create an ultimate sporting experience…
In September every £10 football bet placed on Betfair offered their customers the chance to be entered into the Betfair Penalty Champions competition. Through Betfair’s sponsorship of Manchester United and FC Barcelona, customers who were entered would have the chance to walk onto the pitch at half time at both Old Trafford and the Camp Nou and take a penalty representing their team.
October saw ten Manchester United fans and ten FC Barcelona fans headed to their clubs’ training grounds for a training day with club coaches and ex-players, followed by the filming of their very own penalty. For MU fans it was Carrington with Dennis Irwin and Andrew Cole and for Barca fans it was at Joan Gamper with Roberto Bonano.
With all twenty penalties posted online for the public vote, it was not long before two teams would be announced and preparing for the first leg at Old Trafford, before heading to the Camp Nou for the second leg. The winners – with over 87,755 votes between them – were Darrin Crawford, Brendan Doherty and David Snell (representing MU) and Israel Sanchez, Eduardo Rubio and Jordi Vila representing Barca.
December bought both snow and Manchester United v Arsenal at Old Trafford. With all winners finally making it to Old Trafford despite some snow-diverted flights at half time our six winners and their glamorous escorts (Caroline me in beautiful yellow Betfair Jackets, below) stepped out onto the hallowed turf at Old Trafford. As if stepping out in front of approximately 80,000 fans wasn’t daunting enough, the Chilean Miners and the one and only David Beckham had also decided to make an appearance at the match!
The crowd immediately got behind their Red Devils, encouraging the MU boys to an early 3-1 lead over the Barca team, leaving MU with what should have been an easy win at the Camp Nou…or maybe not…
After the Christmas break it was time for Betfair’s six winners (oh, and me again) to start the New Year in style by flying to Barcelona and following in the footsteps of some of today’s greatest players, Messi, Iniesta and Villa, by walking onto the pitch at the Camp Nou at half time of Barcelona v Malaga. With a change in the MU team with Brendan Doherty having to pull out of the competition to attend the birth of his first child…it was up to fourth place Steve Wright to take his place!
With a 3-1 lead it should have been an easy victory for the MU team, however, now it was the turn of a 100,000 Barca fans to get behind their team and it would seem the pressure proved too much for some of the MU team with replacement Steve Wright blazing it over the top of the goal post and goal keeper Roberto Bonano easily saving David Snell’s penalty. However, with the Barca fans behind them the Barca team struck some great penalties and bough the score back to 3-3, leaving Darrin Crawford to secure MU’s victory! Unfortunately for Barca and their fans the MU win was never in doubt as Darrin struck his penalty with total confidence bang into the bottom left hand corner of the goal as he had at Old Trafford securing a 4-3 victory for Manchester United at the Camp Nou!!
So there you have it a 4-3 victory for Manchester United over FC Barcelona! I wonder would Manchester United be victorious against FC Barcelona should fate draw them together in this year’s Champions League…?
Torrential rain all week in Manchester, followed by one glorious sunny Thursday, meant only one thing…’The Betfair Player Challenges’ were in town and heading to Carrington.
At 7.00am a combined team of Betfair and Synergy boarded the train at London Euston and headed to Carrington, Manchester United’s training ground. With the sun shining it was the perfect day to see six Manchester United players take to the field for some slightly unusual ‘training’.
With the Ryder Cup fast approaching it seemed only fitting to have the Manchester United players take on a golfing challenge. So it was decided that their first contest would be the Betfair Ryder Cup Challenge. This saw the players divided into two teams, Team Europe versus Team Americas (sound familiar?!).
Europe’s team comprised of Wes Brown, Darren Fletcher and John O’Shea, and representing the Americas we had the Da Silva twins, Rafael and Fabio, along with Anderson. The teams were taken back to the basics of golf with the ‘simple’ task of chipping a ball into a bucket.
It soon became apparent that the ‘simple’ Ryder Cup challenge was right up Team Europe’s street and perhaps a challenge that Team Americas would rather forget.
With neither of the two Da Silva twins having ever held a golf club before, it was up to John O’Shea to share his pedigree with the opposition, attempting to add a little competition to procedings. But unfortunately O’Shea’s advice fell on deaf ears as both Da Silvas and Anderson failed to make it anywhere near the bucket. Proving Europe’s strength, both Brown and Fletcher chipped close but it was John O’Shea who was victorious chipping in.
With over 200,000 views on You Tube in just five days and millions tuning in to see Graeme McDowell reflecting John O’Shea’s victory by winning the final point to bring the Ryder Cup home for Europe yesterday, it seems it’s not just the Manchester United players who have got Ryder Cup fever!
One year on and another NABS netball tournament saw a new Engine netball team take to the courts in Battersea Park to try and live up to the high standards set last year. With a squad consisting of nine ladies from six of the different agencies within Engine, we took on the challenge of proving we really are best in class under one roof (well nearly, with Penrose just around the corner). Having never played together before, a 5-5 draw in our opening match against a well-rehearsed Ogilvy side was satisfactory.
After a slight reshuffling of positions Engine cruised through the remaining group stage matches with comfortable victories over DDB London, Publicis, Hachette Filipacchi and John Aylings. Finishing top in our group meant we bettered last year’s performance: we were in the Cup! After dispatching Media Com and with Penrose’s Laura Batty not missing a shot, Engine found themselves in the semi final against a strong News International side. At full time Engine had managed to hold the score to a 7-7 draw, which meant extra time (I can hear you all waiting with bated breath). Unfortunately, the News International side proved too strong and extra time saw Engine go down by just two goals and thus miss out on a place in the Grand Final.
Despite leaving with no silverware this year, the Engine girls can hold their heads high after reaching new levels of the tournament and walking away 3rd out of 25 teams. Have no fear: we’ll be heading back next year and keener than ever to get Engine’s name on that winning trophy. Congratulations ladies another fantastic Engine performance!
Now that you’ve heard all about Engine’s netball success I bet you’re all dying to get onto a court and have a game, but, before you do here are five facts to expand your netball knowledge:
Golf, Ballantine’s, bagpipes, Korean drums and 35 mph winds: what a way to leave an impression. The second annual Ballantine’s Championship took place in April on Jeju Island in South Korea. With an elite line up of players confirmed, the arrival of Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and last year’s winner Graeme McDowell, was greatly anticipated.
However, on the Monday of tournament week, with the arrival of players imminent, torrential rain hit – leaving players, press, photographers and entertainers (better known as the bagpipers) stranded in a variety of locations none of which being the Shilla Hotel, Jeju Island - the desired destination. As the weather eased late Monday evening, it was confirmed that Tuesday would be a brighter day and the eagerly awaited players would arrive. Sure enough they did.
Thursday arrived with beautiful sunshine. Ballantine’s guests flooded to the 18th hole marquee to see the likes of Ernie Els and Fred Couples hole their final putt of the day, whilst also being offered the opportunity of a master class with Fred Couples and Lee Westwood.
Gala dinners took place each evening offering a unique blend of Korean and Scottish culture. Guests were introduced to the traditions behind the Scottish heritage (experiencing the Address to the Haggis first hand) and blending of Ballantine’s. This was followed by live entertainment in the form of Korean drummers and Scottish bagpipers. Players attended and entertained guests with stories from that day’s play.
As the tournament drew to a close, the weather took a turn for the worse. Winds of 35mph swept through Pinx on the Saturday and players struggled in the conditions out on the course. Guests remained in the warmth of the 18th hole hospitality, enjoying a glass of 17 year old Ballantine’s with a few venturing out in the elements to catch the final few balls.
Crowds flocked to Pinx on the final day, in particular to the 18th hole to watch the play off with Thongchai Jaidee, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and local Korean Sung-Hoon Kang all fighting it out for the silverware. In the end, it was Thongchai Jaidee who took the trophy and left a lasting impression on the 2009 Ballantine’s Championship.
Imagine the prospect of a rugby training session with a coach who is feared by players for his army style drills and envied by other coaches for the results he yields from his team. Guinness Club Together, a grassroots rugby initiative, gave one lucky club the chance to be put through their paces in a unique training session, tailored specifically for the club, by the Wales Defence Coach Shaun Edwards.
Oli Mott, winner of the Guinness Club Together competition, claimed he’d never seen so many players turn up for mid-week training and with such excitement and enthusiasm – they were even all on time! Shaun lived up to his trade-mark terrifying approach and took no pity on the Nottingham Casuals Team, undertaking a series of training drills and practices, which would have put a professional player through their paces. Shaun showed his true passion for the development of rugby by spending time with the club coaches as well as with the players. Judging by all the exhausted faces at the end I think it’s safe to say they had never experienced anything like it.
Despite Shaun’s gruelling schedule, he found time to share a pint of ‘the black stuff’ with the team after the training session, along with sharing some amusing anecdotes of life off the pitch in the professional game. The hard work and sweat truly paid off as the Nottingham Casuals won their next match 81-0! Shaun Edwards obviously left a lasting impression and turned out to be not so intimidating as originally thought.
To round up the 2008-9 rugby season Guinness Club Together is offering one member club the chance to play on the hallowed turf at Twickenham on the day of the Guinness Premiership Final. To enter visit www.guinness-clubtogether.com.
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