2011 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Snickers is all about energy. It’s man-fuel. It helps our alpha-male target market keep up with their mates. But to increase sales in the Middle East and North Africa, a solid association was needed. To reinforce the product’s energy-giving benefit, we knew that football and Snickers could be the perfect team. But how could we stand out when it’s the football crazy summer of 2010, and we have no sponsorship deal? We had to find a way to seize the competitive spirit of Snickers’ market, give them unique bragging rights, and capture the football zeitgeist.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Our audience love football. The world cup was happening that summer, and this audience were desperate to take part in anything big, football related and fun. So we harnessed that spirit, gave them a live event, and focus for their footy passion. We created the ultimate event, and the ultimate brag: the chance to step up, to make football history and to get a world record. How? To play in the world’s longest ever football match, fuelled by energy-packed Snickers. We launched in-store. Press, radio and TV followed to drive recruitment online. Participation was amplified on Facebook.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

‘The world’s longest football match’ gave our audience something so impressive to brag about, they spread the word for us, until we generated nearly half a million dollars in free advertising. 13,000 tried out. 36 were chosen. And after real-time streaming, 42 hours, 5 minutes, 0.48 seconds (a new Guinness World Record), history was made. 9.7 million people got involved in the campaign. We even inverted the traditional media model with a documentary being made about the event. And the sales uplift? An unprecedented 36%. That was our bragging rights.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

During the summer of 2010, everyone wanted a piece of the football cup. But simply putting our logo on a shirt or hoarding wasn’t enough for a brand like Snickers. We needed to give people more than that. We knew that this alpha-male market was crazy about football, and not just playing it, but hanging out in men’s club cafes, watching it, talking about it and most importantly, bragging about it. So with a product that helps our alpha males keep up their energy levels, we got them to spread that benefit message on our behalf.