experience matters

Check out this collection of creative inspiration, online and off for the FIFA World Cup kicking off today.

Celia Jones | Critical Mass Chicago

The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games. Pundits are dubbing the 2010 World Cup the “first digital World Cup,” with expectations that the global sporting event will smash overall viewing records, thanks in part to the development of online TV and of smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone that will allow fans to watch on the move or—discreetly—at work.

In honor of the World Cup festivities kicking off today, we’ve assembled a round-up of creative inspiration, both in the online and offline arenas. And, in keeping with our theme, we’ve organized them based on the essential ingredients of a global sporting extravaganza.

Adrenaline

Nike’s “Write the Future”: This viral hit is a 100% pure adrenaline rush, spanning 32 countries across the globe, packed with superstars, and setting the stage for the epic rivalries that will take center stage in the weeks to come.

Patriotism

ESPN’s “FIFA World Cup Murals”: The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is the 19th time the tournament will be played, and the first time on African soil. To celebrate this historic event, ESPN, Wieden+Kennedy and Cape Town-based AM I Collective created 33 original pieces of artwork: one for every participating country and one overarching World Cup piece. Each painting brings to life the story of that nation. The look of the artwork is inspired by hand-painted African art found in the streets and townships across South Africa, and the entire African continent.

Superstars

Adidas Originals, Star Wars Cantina: Adidas is using the England versus USA match to debut a Star Wars-themed World Cup ad. The German sportswear giant has hijacked the bar scene from the first Star Wars film, splicing stars including David Beckham, Franz Beckenbauer and a light-saber-wielding Snoop Dogg into original scenes featuring Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Fan-atics

mi F50 adiZero: No red-blooded sporting event is complete without rabid fans—and this year’s World Cup is sure to be chock full of them. To ensure they’re wearing blazing hot shoes to match the war paint on their faces, we helped create this shoe configurator for adidas, offering fans the ability to wave their country’s flag—on their feet!

Keeping score

Who knew sport stats could be so sexy? It seems information architects and developers have been salivating at the chance to create infographics that help football fans keep track of all the action. Here are links to some of the top visualizers we found:

• 2010 World Cup – The Ultimate Graphic and Data Resources Guide
• World Cup Visualiser: Follow Real-Time Football Statistics on your iPad
• World Cup Explorer

Jumbo-tron (or in this case mini-tron)

Total Football 2010: While the old-school adage for sports viewing has historically been “bigger is better,” this year’s World Cup proves size matters…but not in the traditional sense. The mobile generation will have an abundance of content for the small screen, including this app created by London developer Colm McMullan. Total Football covers all the basics—full fixture list, group tables, match stats, but it also allows users to get analysis of every World Cup game in detail, from each pass made and placement of shots, to the influence of each player, tackles, clearances, and fouls. All the data is updated live for each game of the World Cup and the app also features built-in Twitter and Facebook integration.

According to the UK’s Guardian, “the BBC has the iPlayer and ITV is simulcasting matches on its ITV Player online service as well as to iPhones. Research from media buying agency Starcom MediaVest suggests that the internet and mobile phones will ‘come into their own’ this summer for millions of fans. More than 2.5 million intend to watch more World Cup coverage online at work, compared to Germany in 2006, while more than 1 million football loving men intend to watch matches via mobile, according to Starcom MediaVest.”

Smack-talk

An essential element of sports is connecting people: in support of a common team or against a common rival. Social media is the perfect vehicle to fuel the conversation…across the globe. Here is a discussion of anticipated use of Twitter and Facebook during this year’s World Cup.

The office pool

The Sun Sweepstakes App: Envisioned as the soccer (football) equivalent to March Madness, the app works like this. Take a picture of your friend, then simply shake the iPhone to choose a team. The Sun Sweepstake Shaker will then save all the details and then use them to create your very own, unique sweepstake poster for you to print out and pin up. At the end of each stage, open the app to check out who has progressed to the next round of the World Cup Sweepstake. Then print off and display your updated poster with details of how every single team has fared. The Sun Sweepstake Shaker also includes World Cup info and expert analysis from exclusive Sun Sport Columnists Harry Redknapp, Terry Venables and Ian Wright.

Flashy uniforms

Even the fashion world has jumped on the FIFA bandwagon, offering a range of World Cup-inspired garb.

Alcohol

Bud United: Budweiser will launch a global advertising and social media campaign today, centered around a World Cup-inspired online reality TV series. The “Bud United” series will follow 32 football fans—one representing each nation competing in the World Cup finals—living together in a house in South Africa for the duration of the tournament, watching each match, and exploring the country together.

Just for fun

Like the half-time entertainment at US sporting events, here is a collection of other random, cool or interesting World Cup-related objects (most notably “The Wee Soccer Urinal”).

The breadth of creativity in the work above captures the genuine enthusiasm for this global event. Like the human “waves” at a stadium, it will be exciting to see how digital will connect people, foster conversations, and amplify the World Cup message around the world. You can bet we’ll be watching! Will you?