Nissan: Follow the Ball

Project type

Earned Media Strategy

Role

Strategy Manager

Agency

TBWA

Industry

Automobile

Brand

Nissan

Awards

Silver and Bronze Cannes Lions

Challenge

As a brand that is not top-of-mind for Brazilians, Nissan faced a crowded market dominated by competitors with massive ad budgets. Capturing attention to its cars without relying on large-scale TV advertising throughout the year was a big challenge. The brand needed to boost its main car Kicks and drive brand talkability.

Cultural Insight and Execution

Since we couldn’t match the frequency of traditional ads, the creative brief focused on transforming an everyday moment into an extraordinary experience, guided by the brand's tech claim, Intelligent Mobility. We decided to engage thousands of people during the Soccer Championship Finals—but not with a typical ad.

Instead, we brought the technology to the field, inspired by Nissan’s Moving Object Detection Technology, to track the ball in real-time. Using computer vision cameras, the game ball was followed while synced LED billboards displayed the Nissan Kicks in pursuit. This created an interactive experience that captivated fans, photographers, and TV viewers, seamlessly blending Nissan’s technology with the thrill of the game.

Outcome

Over the course of two matches, the live billboard interaction captivated 80,000 in-stadium fans and reached over 15 million viewers watching on TV. The campaign sparked widespread social media activity, generating 35 million earned impressions, far exceeding initial expectations. Nissan became the most talked-about brand during the 2018 Soccer Finals, despite not being an official sponsor. The campaign proved to be Nissan’s most successful social media effort to date, significantly boosting brand awareness and elevating its status in the Brazilian market.