Francois d’Espagnac, Matteo Della Venezia and Tom Oliver
McCann London
Account Directors
Sailesh Jani
McCann London
Managing Partner
Rob Smith
McCann London
EVP
Paul Gillespie
McCann London
Senior Project Manager
Claire Colohan and Rebecca Wilford
Craft/McCann
Producers
Sergio Lopez
Craft/McCann
Chief Production Officer EMEA
Karen Crum
McCann London
Head of Planning
Fanni David
McCann London
Senior Planner
Jack Goss
McCann London
Planning Intern
Omri Cohen
Somesuch
Director
Todd Martin
Somesuch
Director of Photography
Louise Gagen
Somesuch
Producer
Seth Wilson
Somesuch
Executive Producer
Reimer Eisig and Lennard van der Last
Somesuch
Composers
Chris Graves
Craft/McCann
Music Supervisor
Adam Smyth and Giselle Hall
Craft/McCann
Senior Sound Engineer and Sound Engineer
Mariona Sauret, Adam Ryzman and Francis Harris
Craft/McCann
Editors
Miriam Sasiain
Twentyfour Seven
Production Manager
Yasmina Ikimou
Twentyfour Seven
Production Coordinator
Lucas Cuevas
Twentyfour Seven
1st AD
Frodo Martinez
Twentyfour Seven
2nd AD
Ivo Van Vollenhoven
Twentyfour Seven
Ext. Producer
Bea Cañete
Twentyfour Seven
Producer
Joe Richardson
Craft/McCann
Artworker
Liam White
Craft/McCann
Print Producer
Ellis Faint
Craft/McCann
Studio Manager
Why is this work relevant for Creative Data?
This campaign is relevant for Creative Data, because it was an idea that had data gathering and visualisation at its core. At a time when Xbox had lost the FIFA marketing rights and were unable to advertise the game, we instead turned the skills that happened on the field during real football matches into the corresponding Xbox commands. Whether on perimeter boards or commentary or in post-match newspaper reports, the executions decoded real football moves, allowing gamers to re-create them on Xbox, and become better at FIFA 18. All while Xbox never even mentioned FIFA.
Background
‘FIFA 18’ was going to be a crucial videogame for Xbox. But our competitor, PlayStation, had bought all the FIFA marketing rights. We couldn’t even show our own game packshot. So how could we market a game we were forbidden from marketing?
Describe the idea/data solution
We leveraged something bigger than videogame football – real football, the beautiful game. In partnership with Real Madrid and a top gamer, we utilised the data of every pass, every shot, every possible combination on the pitch, and translated it into the corresponding Xbox controller buttons for ‘FIFA 18’. Across everything from audio commentary to pitchside perimeter boards to newspaper match reports, this approach linked FIFA with Xbox in the minds of gamers, without ever mentioning the game or contravening the marketing deal. But this data didn’t just speak about FIFA – it made our target audience better at it on Xbox.
Describe the data driven strategy
The situation was an almost impossible one for Xbox. Forbidden from mentioning FIFA, showing any game assets or even a packshot meant that we had to approach the problem laterally. So, we leveraged the one thing with a bigger and more passionate fan base than videogame football – actual football. Every moment of a football game – every piece of data – was translated into the corresponding Xbox command. At a time when we couldn’t even mention FIFA, we instead gathered data from matches in real time, and shared them with our fanbase – thereby educating and making them better at the game. This wasn’t just data for the sake of data. It was a truly useful service for all FIFA fans.
Describe the creative use of data, or how the data enhanced the creative output
Together with a FIFA expert, we translated the moves, passes, tackles, shots, and dribbles, into Xbox commands. This data was visualised across a range of different media. A trailer introduced the concept to the world. This was followed by reactive social posts that translated Real Madrid’s match highlights. We also did radio commentary on talkSport, animated perimeter boards, and a match report in newspapers – all in the form of Xbox commands.
List the data driven results
- Over 100 million impressions
- Reached 650 million spectators per match (x 12 matches)
- FIFA unique player base grew 10% year-on-year from launch through to Q3