Professional soccer players talking to each other or their coaches and managers on the field often cover their mouths to ensure that their conversations can’t be overheard by the opposing team or even parsed by lip-reading reporters or viewers at home. A new comedic ad campaign from Burger King France and creative agency Buzzman speculates that these secretive chats have little to do with game strategy but are instead focused on the important task of ordering Burger King.
In a series of four short films, a pair of coaches seem to be discussing player substitutions, but are actually changing a Burger King order. A player is angry not because he’s taken off the field, but because his order was forgotten, and he threatens to eat his coach’s fries in retaliation. Opponents plan a secret trip through the drive thru together and players debate who will take a free kick and who’s paying for a post-match meal.
The agency builds on a similar series of four spots that Buzzman created for Burger King France last year poking fun at problems with video assistant refereeing in soccer.
“Buzzman and Burger King wanted to create new comedies also based on a soccer mystery to reinforce Burger King’s presence and preference among soccer fans,” Buzzman associate director Loïc Coelho told Adweek. “The agency thought of another sports mystery and answered the questions that soccer fans have always wondered about: why do footballers cover their mouth with their hand when they talk?”
The campaign was first broadcast on Sept. 24 during the Classico game between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille. The spots will continue to run on TV and Prime Video during all of the season’s Ligue 1 games.
CREDITS
Burger King France
Managing director: Alexandre Simon
Marketing director: Timothée Loizeau
Media officer: Erinna Beaudron
Product manager: Sofia Nimmegeers
Buzzman