SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL — Since 1953, Brahma beer has been the leading partner of Brazilian football. It was there when Brazil won five times the World Cup, but not only that. In 1969, it was there when Brazilian football helped stop a war in Nigeria. In 2004, it was there when Brazilian football helped stop a war in Haiti. Brahma believes that while football has already stopped countless wars, no battle can ever stop the spirit of football.
“Football has the power of bringing people together under the same passion, so we can keep their hope alive until FC Mariupol can come back home,” said Illia Balaban, Chief Creative Officer and CEO of Who Are You Agency, from Ukraine.
Ukraine has always supported Brazilian football. Many players launched their careers in Europe due to the visibility and opportunities they received playing in the Ukrainian League. Over the years, the country became an essential gateway for players to enter the European market.
In a show of solidarity with war-torn Ukraine, Brahma and the Ukrainian community in southern Brazil have taken the unprecedented action of renaming their local football team after the now-disbanded Ukrainian club from Mariupol.
Because of the prominent Ukrainian community in the Prudentopolis region, many Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict in their home country ended up in southern Brazil. This makes the move very personal for many of the local residents, who overwhelmingly support the effort.
The São Paulo ad agency, in response, created a vibrant and many-layered campaign that tells the story of how the Ukrainian community embraced FC Mariupol and their once proud city. The campaign includes a video, a website, out-of-home, digital ads, and more.
It turned the A.A. Batel, the most traditional football team from the Prudentópolis Region, a place with 75% of Ukrainians and Ukrainians descendants, into FC Mariupol.
“We’re so grateful for this warm welcome by AA Batel,” said Andriy Sanin, Vice President of FC Mariupol. “The war has been devastating to our city. Our schools, theaters, and sports teams were all destroyed or displaced in the conflict. To have this football team from halfway around the world offer to keep our name alive during this dark time in our history, it’s impossible to express how much this means to us.”
The project officially launched on April 22. Welcomes are expected via social media from both Brazilian players who have played in Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian football players. Celebrations will continue during the team’s first home game at their home stadium on April 29th.
