Google Pixel’s Winning Play: When Football and Advertising Perfectly Align

In our house, there is only one Football Team to support and it's Arsenal F.C . When this advert landed on Wednesday, it reached my husband within minutes on social media and it sparked an immediate reaction from him and his friends, which then echoed around the internet. I'm always amazed at the strength of brand across football teams and footballers,?something most marketers would kill for.

Using that power in advertising can be tricky, let's just say that some footballers are very good footballers... But this ad by 谷歌 Pixel hits the mark on many levels.

It features Sol Campbell musing over the advantages of making an advantageous change this January, ultimately encouraging people to switch to a Google Pixel phone. On the surface, it's about a very poignant moment in footballing history.

Sol 24 years ago very famously (in the footballing world)?moved from Tottenham to arch-rivals Arsenal causing a massive stir with the fans on both sides which continues today. ?

The ad has multiple visual and audible references to this, but he also weaves in the benefits of switching this January and how you can reap the rewards by doing so. It ends with an amusing interaction between Sol and Google's Gemini app.

The ad has been celebrated by Arsenal fans and insulted by Tottenham fans but whatever your footballing allegiance, for me it hits the mark on multiple levels.

• Timing, it was launched on Wednesday just ahead of the North London Derby between Arsenal and Spurs, one of the biggest matches of the season for both teams. It's also right in the middle of the transfer window and hopefully driven by a brand insight that people are more likely to switch phones in January.
• Appeal, In footballing terms Sol is up there with one of the best and whilst he was great on the pitch, the awareness of his transfer still sparks emotion 24 years on so the association is perfect.
• Social currency, the moment it was posted, the ad was picked up by huge numbers of fans and shared. It's also gained a huge PR presence on various platforms. Our social listening platform picked up a huge spike in mentions.

• Subtle brand awareness ?- the phone barely features in the ad, but the end interaction creates the right level of humour and association.

For a time-sensitive ad, you could criticise Google for being a bit wasteful of their marketing budget, but sometimes the timing is just right and I look forward to seeing the results and probably the multiple award entries.

Watch the ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQvG0WQkpU

- Kate Cohen