Ogilvy Young Star 2015 - Security Moms - Lucas Madeira

Security Moms Young Star Cannes 2015 Program

By Lucas Madeira

This year an idea caught the attention of millions of Brazilians, including myself. This idea is the kind of work that goes beyond advertising, becoming subject of the media and part of daily conversations. I believe this idea can receive a lion at Cannes and also has the power to change the Brazilian culture in some way.

It was created for Ogilvy Brazil (what makes me really proud) for Sport Club Recife (a football team from Recife). They've named it “Security Moms”.

The idea is based on a very relevant cultural tension now a day in Brazil: the violence in football stadiums. Fan violence has been an endemic problem in Brazil in recent years. We are known as the country of soccer and for our passion for the sport, but sometimes the passion of some fans exceeds the limits.

In the last years, violence have consistently grown in stadiums, where many supporters go just to get involved in brawls with their rivals, scaring and keeping away families and real fans who would love to watch live matches of their teams more frequently. Every day is getting more difficult to see children at Brazilian stadiums.

Mostly of the stadiums fights are caused by someone that I’m going to call “professional fan”: a group basically composed by men who are really crazy for their teams, who have their lives guided by it, and who get blinded by their emotions during the games. Most of them are members of organized fans associations.

Lucas Madeira | Young Star Cannes 2015 Program - Security Moms

ENTERING ON THE PITCH

Sport Club Recife understood the gravity of this problem and that’s why it became the first team in Brazil that really did something relevant to change this scenario. Other clubs have made actions trying to talk about this subject, but none of them could engage or attract those who are part of the problem, the fans. Sport went beyond of a simple band carried by the players with a peace message.

Sport Club Recife had a big challenge: how to change the behavior of these professional fan during a soccer match? What would make them to reflect about their acts and think twice before causing a fight? How to leave the speech behind and really make something to change?

At the same time, Sport couldn't just ban this kind of fan from their matches. They have their financial and emotional importance for the team and for the club, once they are very loyal and fanatic, always giving support for the players.

Ogilvy Brazil found the perfect appealing element to make sport and soccer fans in general aware about violence in stadiums: their moms.

After all, no one wants to get in a fight in front of a mother, especially your own.


ENTERING ON THE PITCH

Sport was able to talk about a very serious problem in an unexpected way.

Moms are cute. Moms are a serious thing and have credibility. Moms are an universal icon of protection. They always want to protect their sons, keeping them away from trouble, but nobody would imagine a mom literally protecting his son as a bodyguard. And that's where lives the funny part of the idea.

Sport Club Recife presents: security moms.

On a match between Sport and Nautico, the main derby in Recife (we call it “clássico dos clássicos”), Sport’s directors hired fans’ mothers to work as securities wardens in the stadium to prevent fights. The moms were dressed in high visibility vests bearing the words "Security Moms" and were in charge of watching their sons cheering for their team. The mothers got the same training as all security officials and volunteers working at the game. Their presence was highlighted on big screens before and during the game to make fans aware of their presence and to pass on the message of peace in stadiums.


THE GAME

The activation went viral and was a PR success. It became news and was spread to the whole world. Thousands of sites and blogs published about it. It was highlighted on different TV channels and was showed more than once on TV Globo, the main broadcaster in Brazil. Many reporters followed the moms during the whole day, since the preparation before the match until the game with their sons. As the idea plays with two universal icons, soccer and moms, the coverage was made by the whole media, and not only by sports specialized vehicles. The media specialized in advertising have published a lot about this activation, which is a good sign of how the jurors could evaluate it in Cannes.


THE “GOL”

At the game, the action was a big goal. The fans got really surprised to find their moms at the stadium, but they loved it. At the same time they changed their behavior to act in a better way in front of their moms, which proves they would never cause a fight having their moms around. But more important than that, is the impact the idea caused in everyone that was on the stadium or was impacted by the news.

People started to reflect and talk about violence in Brazilian stadiums. Sport Club Recife was the first club to put this subject back to the agenda, provoking the media and soccer fans to discuss a solution to this problem that is ruining Brazilian clubs that are loosing money (the number of fans at stadiums is getting smaller since people are afraid of going to the games) and is eroding the beauty of the sport. “Security moms” started a movement in benefit of peace in soccer. After that, other clubs created their own actions to draw attention to this subject and to stop violence in stadiums.

And just for the records: Sport won the match 1-0 and no fights or confusion were registered.


THE “GOL”

I really believe “security moms” will win at Cannes.

The beauty of the idea is its simplicity and the way it tackle the problem right at its core, creating a dialogue amongst those responsible for the origin of violence, the fans. The idea is so powerful and universal that could be implemented in any country that also suffers with violence in stadiums. And unfortunately, we know that many countries also have this problem, which helps juries to understand the context of the activation. Besides that, based on years analyzing winning works from Cannes, in my opinion juries tend to value ideas that are local but have the potential to be global.

Being an idea from Brazil involving soccer could be considered one more cliché, but it was executed in an innovative and “sexy” way. Besides this advertising analysis, playing with the soccer culture in Brazil is a way to transform and evolve the culture of the whole country. Sport Club Recife is making part of the change that Brazilian soccer needs.


AFTER THE GAME – OR “WHY I BELIEVE SECURITY MOMS WILL CONTINUE TO SCORE GOALS”


AFTER THE GAME – OR “WHY I BELIEVE SECURITY MOMS WILL CONTINUE TO SCORE GOALS”

The buzz that the idea caused in Brazil and in the whole world also indicates the power of it. People got interested in the subject and the story of moms watching their sons at the stadium is captivating. When I heard a friend of mine (not an advertiser) talking about the activation during a bar conversation, I realized how powerful this idea was. This massive repercussion could result in a bronze or silver PR Lion. This category is really competitive and hard to win, and historically, Brazil is not a specialist in it (USA consistently has been the big winner in PR). Last year, we got just one golden Lion in the category, and it was awarded to Ogilvy Brazil. Even thought, I still believe we have the potential to grab a lion in it, but not a gold one (even so, I will be cheering for gold, hoping to be wrong about it).

Where we do have a big chance to win gold is in Promo & Activation. The core of “security moms” is an activation at the stadium, and in this category, we are the specialists. Brazil knows how to win at Promo & Activation, especially Ogilvy. Last year Brazil was the country that got more awards in this category, with 10 lions in total. In 2013, we were also the big winners, bringing home the Grand Prix for “Immortal Fans”, another activation made for Sport Club Recife. And at least in the last five years Brazil (and Ogilvy) have been rocking in this category of the Festival.

But we are not going to win just because we are the specialists in this category.

We are going to win because of everything I wrote at this paper. We are going to win because “security moms” is a beautiful and winning idea. It will win in many festivals of the world, but who really won is the Brazilian soccer and it’s fans. “Security moms” brought an extremely relevant theme to the spotlight, provoking the discussion of the society. And this is one of the roles of a good piece of work. The advertising industry should produce more ideas that becomes news and sparks people to think about the subject. The world should have more moms watching their sons to reassure they will not do stupid things.

A soccer fan but not a professional one. A professional fan of good advertising and of advertising for good. A planner working at Ogilvy for five years and with soccer experiences at David SP, David Buenos Aires and Ogilvy NY. Someone who loves to travel and is really thrilled by having the chance of making the dream of going to Cannes come true. Proud to be part of an agency that creates ideas that become news and have cultural relevancy, such as “security moms”.


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Ogilvy Young Star 2015 - Security Moms - Lucas Madeira