NEWS

Here is a list of the ads that the main sponsors produced for the National Team:

I really enjoyed the ad that TTNET produced with the footballers’ mothers. It made me laugh.  The agency put across the main idea with the mothers. After all aren’t mothers the main sponsors of their children, in name and in reality? It emphasized a good point. The film is one you can watch over and over again. There is a flag but no marching music and somehow you can’t help but feel stimulated to support the team. Each time, you can’t help watching to see which mothers belong to which players, how they played when they were young and whether the players bear a resemblance to their mothers.   The beginning of the ad contains a good play on words, 'Bu bir ana sponsor filmidir' (This is a film from a Mother (Main) sponsor).  It must also be mentioned that the PR work for the film was as good as the film itself. That adds another kind of value to the brand name.  

Watching the Ülker film also makes one feel good. When the dream of the child to play football with the national team is realized, it creates a psychological bond and draws him closer to us emotionally.  The actors who were chosen to play the mature version of the children bore striking resemblances to the young players.  As the music at the beginning and end of the film reaches its crescendo, it adds a dramatic quality. I hope the national players will play as dramatically.

One of the most talked about ads comes from Garanti Bank. The first time I watched it I was reminded of the organized army of the evil Orfs, in the film, Lord of the Rings. After all, their purpose was to “overthrow the mountains of terror”, wasn’t it? To be the strong Turko side makes us happy, but what does the term “Turko” represent for Europeans?  The frightening thing that sets the film apart is that the visuals of Garanti Bank’s ad are so different from the other main sponsors’ visual representations.   Does the brand have a secret purpose; is it sending us a message? I think it is.
 
Turkcell’s film uses the soothing voice of Yaşar and shows visuals of players and 70 million fans singing along with the song he wrote in support of the National Team. The film has been shown many times before. The first time I saw it broadcast, I wrote that the message it contained really struck home; I still have the same opinion. Okay, could Turkcell have produced a new film? I’m sure it could have. It would have been nice to see a new sequel to the first film!  But Turkcell is announcing a new service called Goals on your Mobile Phone. I’m sure it will sell a great deal of telephone units to people in this world who want to talk about football.

Efes Pilsen did not produce a film because it is forbidden for companies to advertise alcoholic beverages on television. However, I think that one of the best sponsorship channels for Efes is the National Team itself. Efes may not produce TV commercials but the name of the brand will be present and highly visible for the entire length of the championship, from start to finish!

Turkish Airlines didn’t make a commercial either. Recently, THY has emerged in the media communications of Star Alliance and Anadolu Jet with a slogan dedicated to the National Team, ‘ Football begins on the ground, excitement lives in the air’.

Mercedes Benz makes extremely elegant commercials.  Mercedes advertises itself as a sponsor by showing the Mercedes logo on a basketball being used by the National Team and on a bus from which the players are emerging.  The symbols on Mercedes' product sales advertisements were also changed, to reflect the company’s sponsorship status.

Coca Cola knows the best ways to communicate with the market using their media planning expertise and vast global know-how.  Despite not participating as a sponsor in the World Cup, the sound of the Turkish people screaming “red-white” while they simultaneously turned their lights off and on, was heard by Rüştü Reçber who was far away in South Korea. It was such a touching film that when I saw it in Paris tears filled my eyes.   This time, Coke, as a main sponsor, is utilizing its global experience and contributing some great advertising. If you remember the match played without spectators in Malta, Coca Cola drew attention with its written slogan “Did you think we would leave you alone?”  Now which brand of Cola wants to take over the sponsorship of the National Team?  Whatever the result, Coca Cola’s name will be written on the wall.