UEFA Champions League Mascots Front MasterCard

MasterCard today announces a UEFA Champions League player mascot advertising campaign created by McCann London in support of their 17th season of sponsorship of The UEFA Champions League. The idents break on the 2nd April during the Quarter-final stage and will be shown in 20 different markets across Europe.

 

For the first time, MasterCard will showcase their unique position as provider of the UEFA Champions League Player Mascots. The ads show the journey of a young boy becoming one of the 22 children who accompanies a player onto the pitch at the beginning of a UEFA Champions League match.

 

Since 1994, MasterCard has been offering these experiences, giving young fans the chance to become a Player Mascot. This year, McCann London worked with MasterCard to put this story together and showcase it in the UK. The campaign shows MasterCard’s continued commitment to provide priceless experiences for fans which go above and beyond the rules of traditional sponsorship by getting MasterCard cardholders and their families closer to the events they care about most.

 

The narrative of the ad unfolds with 12 chronological idents starting with the moment a lucky boy receives the winning phone-call, waiting in the tunnel holding the hand of a player before he walks on to the pitch and is finally reunited with his father in the stands. Each ident concludes with the summary of the child’s Priceless moment with the line “A match they’ll never forget: Priceless”.

 

Paul Trueman, Head of UK Marketing for MasterCard, said:  “In line with our global strategy of moving from observing Priceless moments to enabling Priceless experiences this campaign is a wonderful showcase of our unique UEFA Champions League PlayerMascot programme and the exclusive opportunities available to all of our cardholders”. 

 

Rob Doubal, Executive Creative Director for McCann London, said: “We've really enjoyed digging into what it actually means to be a mascot at the Champions League with MasterCard.  It really is a very special thing, and the team has done a really great job of bringing this to life.”

 

30” and 60” versions have also been created to run online, to fully showcase the mascot’s journey.

 

To see the ads for the first time, tune in to ITV on the 2nd April during the broadcast of the UEFA Champions League Quarter-finals.  

 

Brief: Showcase MasterCard’s sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League

Client: Paul Trueman, Head of UK Marketing. Beatrice Cornacchia, Head of Consumer Marketing, Europe. 

Agency: McCann London

Creative Directors: Matt Crabtree and Simon Hepton            

Art Director: Michael Thomason   

Copywriter: Chloe Grindle           

Account Handlers: Sam Lewis and Lucy Mahon 

Agency Producer: Charlie Macpherson        

Director: Pete Riski

Production Company: Rattling Stick   

Producer: Kelly Spacey

Music Title & Artist: Yuri Seppä

Post Production: Framestore

Localisation: Craft Worldwide