Lucky Sponsor

Mercado McCann

Medals Won

  • 🥇 GOLD – Best Use of Digital Advertising
  • 🥇 GOLD – Best Use of Video Content
  • 🥈 SILVER – Best Use of Social
  • 🥉 BRONZE – Consumer Products and Services

Campaign Overview

To position Schneider as Argentina’s new “lucky sponsor”—and simultaneously turn rival Quilmes into a national jinx—the brand launched a provocative cultural question: since Schneider replaced Quilmes as sponsor and Argentina immediately began winning everything, what would have happened if Schneider had always been there? The campaign reimagined Argentina’s most painful football defeats as if Schneider’s luck had changed history.

Through hyper-accurate recreations of iconic matches, jerseys, hairstyles, and broadcast aesthetics, the campaign rewrote football heartbreak as victory. A full 360º execution across film, newspapers, radio, limited-edition packaging, and street activations turned the idea into a national superstition—exploding even further when Argentina actually won the Copa América 2024, sealing Schneider’s status as the country’s new good-luck charm.


Creative Concept

• Mythology Re-Signification: The idea reframed football superstition into a strategic brand weapon—turning decades of “bad luck” into a narrative Schneider could finally win.

• Humor-Driven Cultural Flip: By rewriting real historical defeats into imagined victories, the campaign transformed shared trauma into entertainment, making the message unmistakably fun, bold, and culturally fluent.

• Rivalry as Creative Engine: Quilmes became the embodiment of the curse; Schneider the underdog challenger. This polarity turned brand choice into an emotional battleground rather than a product decision.

• Fandom-Native Storytelling: The work tapped the language, jokes, and rituals football fans already used, ensuring the idea felt authentic to the sport’s mythology instead of imposed by a brand.


Execution Strategy

Hero Film: Recreated historic matches Argentina lost—rewritten as triumphant victories powered by Schneider’s “luck.”

Print & Newsstands: Alternate-history newspaper covers transformed real defeats into headline wins fans wished had happened.

Radio Replays: Live match-style broadcasts retold iconic failures as glorious outcomes, embedding the superstition in everyday sports culture.

Limited-Edition Packaging: Special cans connected directly to the lucky-sponsor storyline, turning the brand into a physical charm.

PR & Earned Media: Former players, national outlets, and fan communities amplified the narrative organically across the country.

Social Takeovers: Real-time dominance of football conversations during Copa AmĂŠrica reinforced the myth at the height of national attention.

Each execution honored the rituals of fandom while scaling the superstition narrative across every cultural touchpoint.


Impact and Results

• 32 million TV views and 23 million X views on launch night, demonstrating instant nationwide penetration and cultural takeover.

• 35 million unique users reached, meaning the campaign touched nearly the entire country (population 45 million).

• 180 million impressions on X driven by seven Schneider-led takeovers during Copa América.

• +247% increase in brand mentions, proving the superstition narrative reshaped real fan conversation.

• 9,000+ organic mentions, making the campaign the #1 trending hashtag nationwide.

• 95% neutral-to-positive sentiment, a 30-point lift that recast Schneider as the fan-favorite underdog.

• $3 million in earned media, validating massive unpaid amplification fueled by fandom and rivalry dynamics.

Schneider didn’t just join the superstition conversation—it dominated it, while Quilmes became nationally branded as the “jinx.”


Why It Worked

The campaign tapped into Argentina’s deepest emotional sports truth: superstition drives fandom. By weaponizing football memory, national trauma, and collective belief, Schneider didn’t just advertise—it rewrote destiny. Making the competitor culturally “unlucky” was bold, risky, and irreversible. Once Argentina lifted the Copa América with Schneider as sponsor, the myth turned into fact—and the country crowned a new lucky brand.

Lucky Sponsor

Client

CCU

Agency Name

Mercado McCann

Categories

Best Use of Digital Advertising
Best Use of Video Content
Best Use of Social
Consumer Products and Services

Privacy Preference Center