Wednesday 19 October 2016

Adidas & Paul Pogba: When an ad campaign goes terribly wrong


2 days ago, French international and Manchester United superstar Paul Pogba could be found in the news headlines for two main reasons: one of them concerns a commercial launched by Adidas, while the other headlines hold critical analysis of the Frenchman’s performance on the pitch against rivals Liverpool.


The YouTube video launched by Adidas tells the story of how a Paul Pogba grew from a child juggling melons with his feet in a French suburbto a superstar donning the Manchester United jersey and representing France in the international level, doing things his own way since day one. It has already crossed over a million views in the last 2 days, but it’s interesting to note what the people have to say about the hype that has been created around Paul Labile Pogba. From a player who was bought for a record transfer fee of 89 million pounds, fans of Manchester United have been expecting much, and at times when the Frenchman has been unable to meet the expectations (like in his last game against Liverpool), he has been at the receiving end of much flak and criticism with football fanatics labeling him as being overrated.

So, owing to his unimpressive stint against Liverpool, the comments section of Adidas’ latest commercial bearing the lines “Football Needs Creators” is loaded with disapproval. Contradicting the number of  views and likes the commercial has received are the numbers that define Pogba’s performance for Manchester united since his record breaking transfer, and honestly, they are nowhere close to justifying Pogba as a “creator” in the game of football. Consider this with the fact that Adidas had the likes of Lionel Messi and MesutOzil on their list, men who can actually be credited for being the ultimate creators on the pitch.

Looking at the whole scenario from a marketing point of view, the conclusion can be drawn with a couple of questions. Does the commercial,and its reception among football lovers mean that Adidas chose the wrong person to feature in their new advertising campaign? Or was the sports brand simply drawing its own advantage from all the hype that has been created over Paul Pogba? Well, it’s upto the Frenchman alone to justify both: the commercial that credits him as a “creator in football”, and the hysteria that has so far been caused around his name.


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