By setting aside two bottles of a well-known soft drink in the case of the first, and a bottle of beer in the second, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba caused a storm in the marketing of the Eurocup, in a new example of the awareness of the footballers of their own power.
When Cristiano Ronaldo hits the table, the world listens to him. Not only does the Portuguese superstar have one of the most brilliant track records in soccer history with his impressive collection of titles, trophies, records and goals, he is also unrivaled on social media.
In February, the five-time Ballon d’Or became the first personality in the world to surpass the astronomical figure of 500 million followers on the main platforms.
When the 36-year-old striker decides to pass a message, as at the beginning of the week at a press conference, removing two bottles of Coca-Cola placed in front of him by the organizers of the European Championship, to place them out of the visual field of the cameras of television, the detail does not go unnoticed.
Especially because the Portuguese star who rejected all sugary food in his diet to preserve his enviable physique, supported his gesture with three devastating words: “Water, not Coca-Cola.”
A day later it was another sponsor of the Eurocup and UEFA, Heineken, who had a bad day, as a result of the gesture of the French world champion Paul Pogba, who withdrew a bottle of non-alcoholic beer from his table, again in Press conference.
Although perhaps they did not expect such an impact on social networks and in the media, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pogba have great qualities when it comes to managing their image.
– New form of activism –
“More and more often athletes seek to associate themselves with products and brands that conform to their own brand and their values”, analyzes for AFP Simon Chadwick, director of sports at the Emlyon Business School.
“What Ronaldo, who in the past did advertisements for Pepsi and represented Coca-Cola in China in the 2000s, says is: ‘As an individual I have the right to change from what I did in the past,” he continued.
For Simon Chadwick it is a new form of activism.
“Whether on the internet or in the real world, when there is something in front of you that you don’t like and that doesn’t suit you, you simply remove it,” he explains.
But could that gesture cause a four billion dollar drop in the market capitalization of the behemoth Coca-Cola as some claim?
– ‘Too soon’ –
For the affected brands “there will probably be different impacts, but it is still too early to establish them,” says Bertrand Chovet, CEO of Brand Finance France.
“Product placement should be a bit more careful, but players benefit from those sponsors, so it’s a bit of a contradiction,” he says.
Although Coca-Cola and Heineken, when asked by AFP, have not given an answer for the moment, UEFA recalled on Thursday that “the contributions of these sponsors are important for the tournament and for European football,” said the director of the European Championship. Martin Kallen.
The two brands are the largest sponsors of the European conference, according to the KPMG office, which estimates the value of the Heineken contract at 45 million dollars (38 million euros) and that of Coca-Cola at 35 million dollars (29 million euros). of euros).
But UEFA does not value sanctioning Cristiano Ronaldo or Pogba: “We have a regulation approved by the federations that participate (in the Eurocup), we are in contact with them and we remind them of their obligations,” he added.
While waiting for the two players’ next press conferences, their lesser-known colleagues have joined the trend of changing their drinks position in front of the microphones, such as the Ukrainian Andreiy Yarmolenko on Thursday after the victory against North Macedonia ( 2-1).
“I saw Cristiano Ronaldo,” he smiled, before approaching the two bottles of Coca-Cola and beer, and launching the sponsors: “Contact me!” AFP (HN)