Hyundai: #BecauseFutbol

For Hyundai's 2014 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, we celebrated fan passion using two simple words. It was a rallying cry. An excuse for playing hooky. And a hashtag adopted worldwide, trending organically on Twitter twice in the first week. We generated over a 300% lift in brand recognition for Hyundai, and our hashtag took the #1 spot in mentions among all auto brands—second, overall, only to Adidas.

AWARDS:
CLIO Sports, One Show Auto (merit), Effie (finalist), Webby (honoree), ADDY, A-List Hollywood

In this massively integrated campaign, I led efforts across social.

The #BecauseFutbol Tumblr: a grid of custom illustrations created by artists for the campaign.

#BecauseFutbol Tumblr

We teamed up with artists, illustrators, and GIF-makers all around the world to create over 160 pieces of custom content. Each one a different expression of #BecauseFutbol.

The Fellow-Fan Finder: a map of North America with a search box asking "Looking for a place to watch the next match?"

Fellow-Fan Finder

We also created a handy tool to help fans find prime World Cup-viewing locations in their area.

Psychic Readings by Tony

In the spirit of match-predicting World Cup animals, we brought in our own furry expert. (Why? #BecauseFutbol.) Before key matches, we propped up miniature flags of both teams, a bowl of baby carrots beside each one. Then we let Tony's nose lead the way. May he rest in peace (2014-2015).

Tony the Wiz, a guinea pig, choosing between bowls of baby carrots beside Croatia and Brazil flags on a miniature soccer pitch.
The Tony the Wiz Twitter profile, where the guinea pig shared his World Cup match predictions.
The StoryLab team working on laptops in a lounge, monitoring the #BecauseFutbol conversation during the World Cup.

Live from StoryLab

Throughout the entire World Cup, we kept our TweetDecks open and our MacBook Pros amply charged, monitoring #BecauseFutbol conversation and interacting with thousands of fans.

People everywhere confessed their deepest, darkest #BecauseFutbol sins.

People everywhere confessed their deepest, darkest #BecauseFutbol sins.

But they soon realized it was a perfectly acceptable excuse.

But they soon realized it was a perfectly acceptable excuse.

Through simple, lightweight responses, we fanned the flames.

Through simple, lightweight responses, we fanned the flames.

And we empathized with fans, turning their confessions into art...

And we empathized with fans, turning their confessions into art...

As well as rewarding them with commemorative swag.

As well as rewarding them with commemorative swag.

The free soccer balls weren't the only thing people got excited about. Every other tweet sounded something like this.

The free soccer balls weren't the only thing people got excited about. Every other tweet sounded something like this.

Meanwhile, we leveraged our Tumblr content in real time, both during matches...

Meanwhile, we leveraged our Tumblr content in real time, both during matches...

And in response to fan tweets.

And in response to fan tweets.

Of the countless #BecauseFutbol tweets, photos, videos, and stories shared around the world, this one remains a favorite of mine. It was evidence that our campaign had officially made its mark on pop culture.

Of the countless #BecauseFutbol tweets, photos, videos, and stories shared around the world, this one remains a favorite of mine. It was evidence that our campaign had officially made its mark on pop culture.

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