Challenge
During an official match in Peru’s Championship soccer tournament, a fan was killed. In response, the government closed the rest of the Championship to the public. El Bocon is the country’s leading sports journal, its challenge was to come up with an idea to unite people in the fight against violence but avoid drastic measures like stopping the entire tournament.
Insight
The campaign was based on the insight that Peruvians have a passion for football; the aim was to make them aware that violence was a threat to the sport they love and the message was “Violence will make soccer disappear”.
Solution
To bring the campaign message to life the journal’s daily edition was published with no soccer news. In a country where nearly all sports coverage is about soccer this meant an almost blank newspaper. This was a huge risk for El Bocon but the journal wanted to attract attention to the issue and show the effect violence could have on soccer in Peru.
Results
The campaign was an immediate success. From the initial impact in newsstands to the free media coverage by news programs and our newspaper competitors, they all praised the brand’s initiative.
In the digital world the campaign was replicated in 500 web pages and blogs and approximately 1,200,000 people saw the execution that same day.
Finally, the government and the soccer authorities agreed to handle the problem in a more constructive way, saving the championship.