The UK experienced something of its very own 'Super Bowl' moment on Saturday night, when a range of major brands chose to invest millions of pounds to showcase new products during Barcelona FC's 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League Final.
Lynx Dry Full Control 'Premature Perspiration' by BBH
Lynx, the Unilever owned men’s toiletries brand, launched its new ad by Latin American agency PBA for the new Lynx Dry Full Control, a 48 hour anti-perspirant deodorant designed to combat 'premature perspiration’.
The Lynx ad shows young men getting sweaty and excited when they look at attractive women and uses the tongue in cheek tagline ‘Many men have a small problem: premature perspiration’. Media was by Mindshare.
Ford 'Focus Launch' by Ogilvy
Ford, the car manufacturer, has used the Champions League as a platform to launch TV campaigns for many years and for Saturday adapted its global Focus ad to promote the celebration of a hundred years of Ford in Britain.
The Ford ad, made by Ogilvy with media planning and buying by Mindshare, highlights the Focus’ key features such as its abilty to read traffic signs, park itself or alert you when there’s a car in your blind spot. The campaign also celebrates '100 years of Ford in Britain'.
Xbox 'Gears of War 3 Trailer'
The X Box game 'Gears of War 3' trailer, made by Microsoft, debuted at around 9.45pm and offered viewers a preview of what’s in store in the third game in the trilogy as Marcus Fenix fights to save humanity. Media was by UM London.
Russian Standard Vodka ‘Vodka as it should be’ by My Agency
The Russian Standard Vodka ad, made by My Agency, aims to highlight the premim experience of the vodka through shots of its bottle, ice and the vodka itself and uses the tagline ‘Vodka as it should be’.
At My Agency the creative on the Russian Standard Vodka ad was Luke White, the director was Howard Greenhalgh and the director of photography was Adrian Wilde. Editing was by Peepshow and post production was by Framestore.
Audi 'A day in the life of an Audi driver' by BBH
Audi used its Champions League slot to promote its association with the Le Mans race. The film, 'A day in the life of an Audi driver', was created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty and stars double Le Mans winner, Allan McNish.
The Audi ad was shown just before the kick-off during ITV and Sky Sports coverage of the match, in media planning and buying by MediaCom, with a 3D version shown on Sky 3D.
Heineken 'the entrance' by W+K Amsterdam
Heineken have been a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League since 1994 and is currently contracted until 2015. As well as its idents before and after each break, it booked a spot for its recent ad ‘The Entrance’.
Created by a film by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam and directed by Fredrik Bond, it follows the Heineken legend as he charms a woman on an epic journey.
Also tonight, Apple took the opportunity to advertise the functions of its iPad while Carling also continued its Perfect Pint Experience campaign.
This article first appeared on www.campaignlive.co.uk.
