Did Somebody Say Euros? Dark Horses Creatives on Just Eats Euros 2020 Campaign

Dark Horses creatives Sean Johnson and Josh Pearce go behind the scenes on Just Eat Takeaway.com campaign for the UEFA EUROs 2020.

What was the brief?

Due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, many people who had tickets to EURO 2020 are unable to attend. But Just Eat Takeaway.com stepped up and have been giving many of their corporate sponsor tickets to fans, so they can get into the stadium and watch the game. Our brief was to communicate that if you order at Just Eat, you could win the hottest tickets in town.  

Where did the inspiration for the campaign come from?

Being big football fans ourselves, we were all too familiar with the ritual of ordering a takeaway while watching a game. We’re not ashamed to admit that we have celebrated a lamb bhuna arriving as if it were a last-minute equaliser many, many times. For us, it was just a case of elevating a moment that millions of us have experienced.

Were there any obstacles and challenges you had to overcome?

The pandemic hasn’t been ideal for anyone in terms of production. Especially as we were shooting with talent across Europe. But we were very lucky to be working with brilliant production partners who made shooting remotely a painless process from start to finish.   

Did you bring any new/learned skills you picked up during the pandemic to the campaign?

I think we probably became slightly better at communicating our ideas and what we wanted to achieve, especially when “on set” aka sitting in pants watching a Zoom stream. 

Before the shoot, we shot everything ourselves on our phone and cut it together, so the talent and director knew exactly what we were after. There was one moment where we were on a Zoom call with Eric Cantona (Josh’s childhood hero) and had to show him a video of Josh acting out the ad. He’s still not recovered from the crippling embarrassment.

How did you work together with the client to make the work impactful? 

One of the big benefits of working remotely during this process has been the amount we’ve been in contact with the client. With daily Zoom catch-ups and Whatsapp groups it means you develop a really strong working relationship and a great understanding of what both parties want to achieve. And I actually don’t think we would achieve that level of togetherness in a non-pandemic world.

Do you see new brand trends emerging on the back of the type of brands who are now sponsoring the Euros? 

Dark Horses has had a massive EURO 2020 working with both Just Eat Takeaway.com and TikTok. And what’s been about great working with these brands is that they both elevate the experience of watching the beautiful game. Whether it’s chowing down on a pepperoni pizza with friends, or seeing fellow fans reacting to the action on TikTok – both sponsors are already a part of the match day experience.

In a world of tenuous links between brands and sponsorship properties, it’s refreshing to see an authentic connection between fans and sponsors. 

We’re no longer just seeing old brands that have been sponsoring for years anymore. You’ve got these young, digital first brands using sport to break into the mass mainstream, and we hope that this trend long continues.