The World Cup brings out a unique passion in soccer fans, who have waited four long years to see how their country will stack up against the rest of the world. And even though the tournament games don’t begin until June 2010, soccer fans all over the world marked Dec. 4th, 2009, on their calendars because it was the day of the World Cup draw. In an effort to capitalize on the excitement of this moment, W+K NY created the world’s only soccer-inspired heavy metal band, the Group of Death (“the group of death” is the nickname for the toughest opening-round group selected during the draw). To commemorate the World Cup draw, the Group of Death launched content-rich Facebook, YouTube and MySpace pages and played a live concert on the evening of Dec. 4th for New York City’s most passionate soccer fans at the legendary NY soccer pub Nevada Smith’s.
The Campaign Elements
PRE-CONCERT BUZZ
In the days leading up the show, soccer’s most influential bloggers were sent promotional press kits and given the opportunity for exclusive band interviews. As interest in the effort grew, the Group of Death was covered on numerous soccer blogs like World Cup Insider, EPL Talk and This Is American Soccer. The concert was also hyped on-air during and after ESPN’s coverage of the draw.
THE CONCERT
The Group of Death played a 40-minute set that featured four original songs as well as “metalized” covers of soccer classics, such as the 1998 World Cup theme song (Ricky Martin’s “The Cup of Life”). Additionally, footage of the performance was posted immediately to the band’s Facebook and MySpace pages.
THE ROCKUMENTARY
“Group of Death: The Rockumentary,” a tongue-in-cheek mockumentary, was also posted on social networking sites and YouTube to detail the band’s journey.
THE SONGS (according to lead singer/songwriter Baron von Steve):
“Welcome to the Group of Death”: This song is probably the most personal song we have. It’s the one that made everyone pay attention to us as a band and take our love of football and metal seriously. It’s your introduction to the band and everything we stand for. When we play “Welcome” onstage, it makes you understand that we’re about to blast your face off and you’re going to love it.
“We All Call It Awesome”: So we’re in Ireland, finishing up the Hat Trick tour in 1998. We were hanging out in this pub and these college kids from the US were talking to the bartender. And they were having this huge argument over whether the world should call it “football” or “soccer.” And I was just like, “Guys, who cares? We all call it awesome, right?” Of course, they agreed and we all had a good time dancing jigs and singing Irish folk tunes. But later that night, I was like, “This is stupid. There needs to be a song that unites ‘football’ and soccer fans everywhere.”
“Your Love Is Like a Boot to the Face”: When you fall in love, it’s like a more powerful experience than getting tackled by Oguchi Onyewu. You’re just beaten and grass-stained. I showed up to record one morning and Joooeeelll (Trucadero, lead guitarist) goes, “Dude, you look awful.” And I go, “It’s my girlfriend, man. Her love is like a boot to the face.” And that was it. Song written in 10 minutes. It’s one of our most requested tunes of all time too. People identify with that feeling.
“Soccer City”: This is our tribute to the 2010 World Cup. We’re so psyched for the country of South Africa because they love football over there and they love to bang their heads. We have had thousands of fans request that we play over there, but we haven’t been able to go because The Ant (other lead guitarist) has a fear of elephants. We keep telling him that we won’t go on a safari or anything but he doesn’t want to take the chance.
As the calendar ticks closer to June, the Group of Death continues to prepare for the 2010 World Cup, picking up new fans and melting faces along the way.
www.facebook.com/thegroupofdeath
www.myspace.com/thegroupofdeath
Creative Credits
Integrated Campaign: ESPN World Cup – The Group of Death
Client ESPN
Project Name The Group of Death
W+K New York
Creative Director Stuart Jennings
Interactive Creative Director Jerome Austria
Copywriter Andy Ferguson
Art Director Ricardo Viramontes
Project Manager Kelly Kraft
Broadcast Producer Alison Hill
Interactive Producer Kristen Aron
Art Buyer Dona Monroe
Account Team Ken Fineo, Brian D’Entremont, Casey Bernard
Search Strategist Josh Millrod
Executive Creative Directors Todd Waterbury, Kevin Proudfoot
Agency Executive Producer Gary Krieg
PRODUCTION
Director Kim Nguyen
Line Producer Kris Walter
Director of Photography Ed David
EDITORIAL
Editorial Company Post Millennium
Editors Error! Reference source not found./Brandon Boudreaux, Eben Bull
Post Executive Producer Adam Soutar
MUSICIANS
Lead Singer/Bass Steve O’Reilly
Lead Guitar Matt Anthony
Lead Guitar JT Weber
Drums Matt Montalto
MIX
Mix Company 38 Greene
Mixer Adam Charity
EVENTS COMPANY
Company rEvolution
Management Jim Spinello, Darren Lachtman, Brian Quarles
ABOUT WIEDEN+KENNEDY
Wieden+Kennedy, founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1982, is an independent privately held international advertising agency with offices in Amsterdam, Delhi, London, New York, Portland, Shanghai and Tokyo. A full-service, creatively led communications company, Wieden+Kennedy has helped build some of the strongest global brands – including Nike, ESPN, Honda, P&G and Coca-Cola.
Wieden+Kennedy New York opened its doors in 1995. Since then, we have grown into a full-service agency with over 180 employees, with clients that include ESPN, Delta Air Lines, Nike, Jordan Brand, and ABC Television Networks. www.wk.com
