On me 'ead with Dominos

I love it when I see American brands adapted to the English market. In celebration of the World Cup, this Dominos viral game has you heading the football to collect points. If you win the game's 'Cup Final' you're entered to win one of 25 £100 pizza parties. Special coupons and discounts are given out along the way in return for data, what else? Reminders to order online are a constant on the microsite and of course, don't forget to share with your 'mates' on Twitter and Facebook. This is a tidy little piece of user engagement which hits all of the current marketing trends: World Cup fever, social media, viral games and the all-important data collection.

Check it out: http://www.onmeead.co.uk/

Mars' Singing for England

A bit of a delayed post but here's Mars' World Cup ad which uses famed Jamaican-born English footballer widely considered one of the country's all-time best wingers. He reprises his role in New Order's 1990 single World in Motion (see minute 2.30). It's a catchy, patriotic and nostalgic song that associates Mars with England's World Cup aspirations.

Kit Kat, in a World Cup of trouble

When I first saw Nestle's Kit Kat ad which allied itself with English football fans across the country in support of England in the 2010 World Cup, I immediately added it to my list to update on brandopoly. However, I wrote my whole blurb and never posted it because I just found the 'Cross Your Fingers' ad rather uninspiring. Also, their microsite wasn't loading and I just decided the whole thing was a flop.

However, in last week's issue of Marketing, the front page article was about how Mars and The FA are considering legal action against Nestle for what they consider to be a breach on sponsorship rules.  Basically, they claim Nestle is guilty of 'passing off' an association with the England team despite not actually being an official sponsor.

But there's more. Marketing says that Mars undertook similar 'ambush marketing' tactics in the 2006 World Cup in Germany... despite not being an official sponsor of Team England at the time. Woops...

Nestle of course maintains they have not breached any third-party rights and although I certainly can't claim to have read The FA sponsorship contract, I would have to say that Nestle does a pretty good job of avoiding the World Cup altogether. Never is the World Cup or South Africa mentioned and all football shots centre on the Premier League.  Let's see what happens...

Kit Kat ad below. Mars ad to follow.

Nike, write the future

This is a fantastic ad and the perfect way to kick off my series on World Cup advertising. With appearances by Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc Fabregas, Ronaldinho, Kobe Bryant, and even Homer Simpson, Nike proves they've got a huge budget - and know how to use it.

Their call to action pushes viewers to NikeFootball.com where you will hopefully spend some cash on Nike products or enter in their 'The Chance' competition, hosted on Facebook.

Even if you're not a football fan, there's no way you can't get even mildly excited about the impending 2010 World Cup after seeing this ad - the passion, the determination, the excitement, the celebration, it's all there. Can't wait.