Abstract

This case is about Nike’s “Joga Bonito” campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup that was held in Germany from June 09, 2006 to July 09, 2006. Through its Joga Bonito (Play Beautiful) campaign, Nike sought to promote the beautiful aspects of the game of football such as creative play, professionalism, courage, and team spirit. It was a multi-pronged campaign, which comprised of a series of advertisements (ads) that featured a number of football superstars, an online TV channel dedicated to football called Joga TV, a social-networking website, Joga.com, and a Joga3 futsal tournament. The case discusses the reasons that made Nike develop and launch this campaign and the competition it faced from Adidas. The case also discusses the reactions of fans and media analysts to the campaign.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the advertising and marketing strategies adopted by global athletic footwear giants like Nike and Adidas to cash in on the popularity of the FIFA World Cup
• Critically analyze the pros and cons of Nike’s Joga Bonito campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
• and Understand the increasing importance of online social communities and digital media as a cost effective tool for marketing communication.

Keywords

Nike and Adidas, FIFA Football World Cup, Joga.com, Ambush Marketing, Official Sponsor, online social communities , marketing communication, Advertising, Brand Management, social-networking, digital media, Futsal, Sponsorships, Team Jersey, Team Kits, Puma