Here’s some sports schwag with a good cause behind it. In Iran, drug use is a rampant problem among adolescent schoolchildren. Not only do the drugs harm the lives of Iranians, but the sale of drugs usually funds terrorism and other illegal activities. In order to keep kids away from drugs, the Cease-Fire project wanted to give children something better to do. They came up with the idea of giving out free custom soccer balls imprinted with anti-drug slogans on them. Every time a group of kids is playing soccer, they are kept away from drugs. Simple, inexpensive, and highly effective!

Posted: February 24th, 2010 under Soccer.
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Check out this cool (and kinda gross) promotion created by ESPN to inform media-buyers of the channel’s impressive ratings in Asia. The message that ESPN wanted to convey was that sports fans couldn’t get any closer to the action than by watching ESPN’s comprehensive sports coverage and commentary. To send this message in an “eye-catching” way, ESPN had various sports balls airbrushed to look like human eyeballs. Soccer balls, baseballs, and basketballs were all chosen as part of the campaign (probably because people don’t have football or hockey puck-shaped eyeballs).

On the back of the eye-balls was the ESPN logo and the marketing slogan: “You can’t get any closer than this.” The balls were packaged in PR kits that also had literature detailing ESPN’s ratings and audience demographic in the Asian market. The company reported the successful promotion created a very favorable environment for the subsequent sales process, and media buyers were wholly impressed by the unique item.

(via Adsoftheworld)

Posted: August 29th, 2008 under Baseball, Basketball, General, Soccer.
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Here’s a great promotion that isn’t linked to any team. It’s a poster made out of soccer ball paper so you can tear off a page, crumple it up and kick it around. GOOOOOOOOOL!

Posted: March 18th, 2008 under Soccer.
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