Neymar Jr Shakes up the Poker World in New Role as PokerStars Cultural Ambassador

PokerStars today launches a new TV advert celebrating Brazilian football star Neymar Jr’s move into the role of Cultural Ambassador for the brand. Neymar Jr continues his partnership with the world’s largest online poker site PokerStars in a new multi-channel marketing campaign which sees him shaking up the poker scene with a series of exciting experiences for the PokerStars community.

Giving a hint of what’s to come in the partnership, the ad builds excitement for the passion and creativity Neymar Jr will bring to the poker world with his new role. The story starts at a big Pokerstars event with Neymar Jr passing a chip to a hotel security guard who’s just finished his shift and then sets off a chain reaction as the chip is passed to other players in different scenarios. It finishes with the very same chip being presented back to Neymar Jr at a poker event, acting as a metaphor for word of mouth and his love of poker spreading through the community.

The Chain Reaction campaign features a series of vignettes for online, including a 30 second ad which will debut today and is another step in PokerStars.net’s mission to become a globally recognised entertainment brand.

Speaking about his new role Neymar Jr said, “Poker is so much more than just the game. It is a community and a culture and that is what I love about it. I am excited to start this next chapter with PokerStars, and we are already collaborating on a number of key areas. Music is a real passion of mine, so that was first on the list, but there is much more to come. I am excited for you to see what else we have in store.”

Neymar Jr will collaborate closely with PokerStars on a series of creative projects inspired by the world of culture, from art and design to music and more. The first of these projects sees him collaborating on a series of playlists to provide the ultimate soundtrack for every type of poker game and features Neymar Jr’s favourite background tracks for playing poker. Listen to NJRadio here.

Martin Nieri, global creative director at PokerStars said: “At PokerStars, we’ve been entertaining, and been entertained by, our community for decades. We’re excited about working with Neymar Jr in his new role to help us truly shake up the game and bring our community something new." 

Working with innovative marketing company Anomaly, the campaign continues PokerStars' brand vision by taking cues from the world of entertainment and brings those to the world of poker with global superstar Neymar Jr. The film is shot in a high cinematic format, using flowing camera techniques and a fast-paced score to bring fresh energy to this category.

The advert is available to watch online, and will be supported by digital, print, out-of-home, PR and social.