The impact of the name Neymar Jr. is just as great as his image, and this has been confirmed by Contagious, a creative and strategic intelligence firm.
Contagious is one of the most respected and prestigious publications in the world of communications. They help advertising agencies and brands create more creative, innovative, and effective marketing. And they do this by providing inspiration and practical insights based on analyses of the world’s most creative campaigns and most revolutionary trends.
Every year, they analyze and list the 25 best campaigns in the world to highlight the most impressive and clever ones. So you can imagine what it’s like to be on this list.
The GOL Linhas Aéreas campaign, titled “The Neymarless Sponsorship,” made it onto Contagious’s exclusive list as one of the most media-covered campaigns of 2018, generating 540% more media mentions than all other sponsors using Neymar Jr.’s image combined, according to the agency Almapbbdo, which developed the campaign.
According to the creative agency, the idea of using the name “Neymar Jr.”—without actually featuring the star player in the campaign—“undermined” competing brands’ use of the soccer player and, at the same time, delivered a key benefit to the brand: that Gol Airlines would help passengers make the most of their time.
“This campaign was like a great play by Neymar Jr.: innovative, efficient, and, of course, very bold,” commented German Carmona, Marketing Manager at GOL Airlines.
The campaign also won four additional awards simultaneously at the 2018 Cannes Lions International Festival: a Silver Lion in the Brand Experience & Activation category, a Bronze Lion in the Entertainment category, and two Lions—one Silver and one Bronze—in the Social & Influencers category. Gol was the first airline to win awards in three different categories in a single year and the first to win a Silver Lion in the festival’s new Social & Influencers category.
“Gol, the airline for the national team and all Brazilians, always strives to value its customers’ time by providing them with the best in-flight experience. In this campaign, we aim to link this important asset to our products and services, combining intelligence and innovation. It is a source of pride and immense satisfaction to receive these four awards at the world’s premier advertising celebration,” said German Carmona.
Check out the complete list of the 25 best campaigns of 2018 and “The Neymarless Sponsorship” campaign on the Contagious website: https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/the-most-contagious-campaigns-of-2018-part-4
