Brazil’s Vivo Goes For Goal With 2022’s Top World Cup Ad

As Argentina and France prepare to square off in the World Cup Final it’s time to consider the tournament from an advertising perspective. The action on the pitch has seen plenty of shocks and fallen favourites, but the marketing action on screen has provided less drama. Perhaps because of the controversy surrounding this World Cup, or perhaps because brands have enough on their plates in the Winter months, but effective ads have been thin on the ground.

The exception to this is Brazil, which aired a high number of strong 4-Star ads themed around the tournament. Vivo was the best of them all.

The ad captures the excitement and anticipation around a FIFA World Cup by focusing on one of the most excited groups of all – kids. For many children this will be the first World Cup they remember and in football-mad Brazil it’s easily their most anticipated event of the year. To catch that feeling, Vivo finds a slightly unusual angle. It avoids on-pitch action or big names, and instead focuses on the build-up, with kids trying to get their heads around the six-hour time difference between Rio and Qatar.

It’s a fun way of approaching the event, as it’s immediately familiar to any football fan who was once a child and probably engaged in exactly the same kind of mental arithmetic to figure out when the games would start. Vivo give things a twist as it turns out the kid figuring out their time zones isn’t just a spectator, but an on-pitch mascot for the team. That creates a boost of surprise and happiness which pushes an already strong idea to the edge of 5-Star territory. The 4.9-Stars for Vivo’s ad put it ahead of work by Globo TV and beer brand Brahma in Brazil’s World Cup ad race.

For brands making an ad around a sporting even it’s easy and tempting to go the direct route – plenty of action from the games and cameo appearances of stars (if you can afford them). Vivo’s more subtle approach is a better emotional bet, though. By focusing on the very relatable excitement of children waiting for the big event, Vivo can dodge any controversy around the event and reduce it to its essence. Finding a human moment in amidst the noise and hype is something advertising can do extremely well, and the approach pays off here.