Mastercard and McCann Found a Charming, Customizable Way to Unite the World's Top Athletes

Any creative who's had to develop an ad concept involving a ton of A-list talent knows that the secret to maintaining your sanity and budget is to film each star separately, making the production process nice and modular. Mastercard and agency McCann have taken that approach to its logical next evolution with their new "Together, Everything Is Possible" campaign that will debut across 45 countries with the tagline "Start Something Priceless." The core spot anchoring the campaign, "The Red Ball," tells a charming story of a young girl, her dog and the loss of a favorite toy. What ensues is a madcap scramble across countless locales, with pro athletes using all their talents and tricks to try rescuing the ball. While it's creatively a good ad, what's most impressive is that it was designed with regional customization in mind, meaning that the Mastercard marketing team can tell the same story in many different ways around the world. So some audiences might see their favorite rugby and fútbol stars, while others might see the ad focused on tennis and golf athletes. [kickout id="1"] In case you missed any of the starpower in the spot, it features Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, Dan Carter, Bryan Habana, Annika Sorenstam, Ana Ivanovic and Valeri Kamensky. "People today expect more than a great product," said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer for Mastercard, in a statement about the campaign launch. "They expect brands to have a point of view, and it’s through 'Start Something Priceless' that we show ours. We’ve always been a brand focused on experiences over things, and are thrilled to see our global ambassadors uniting to demonstrate in a light-hearted way, that together, everything is possible." The creative, which primarily focuses on featuring Mastercard's tap-and-go payment functionality, will be customized to run in markets across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia. Keen-eared viewers will also notice that sonic branding plays a key role in the ad, with the plinking sound of a Mastercard payment recurring throughout. CREDITS: Client: Raja Rajamannar – Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Monica Biagiotti – Consumer Marketing & Sponsorships Executive VP Cristina Paslar – Consumer Marketing VP Mel Clements – Digital & Social Marketing VP Natalia Umeoka – Consumer Marketing Senior Specialist Jennifer Ziemer – Digital & Social Manager Jazmin Sagastiverza – Digital & Social Senior Specialist Agency/Production: McCann XBC Creative Joyce King Thomas – Chairman, Chief Creative Officer McCann XBC Pierre Lipton - Global Creative Director Adrian Botan – Global Creative Director Pete Jones – EVP, Executive Creative Director Joel Rodriguez - EVP, Executive Creative Director Mikayla Lapierre – Junior Art Director Dhanush Paramesh – Senior Copy Writer Hetu Negri – Senior Creative Juan Peirano – Senior Art Director Account Nicolas Guzman – Managing Director Ann Carey – SVP, Executive Account Director Jessica Deacon – VP, Account Director Nader Nemati – Account Executive Nick Hird – Regional Business Director Production - McCann New York Dave Herman – SVP, Executive Producer Strategy Oriol Bombi - EVP Global Strategy Director Andrew Augeri – VP, Strategy Director Danielle Johnsen Karr – VP, Social Strategy Director Katie Cleaver – Global Strategy Director Eden Ben-Haim – Senior Strategist Rosalind Mowitt – Senior Strategist Craft Athenea Harrington – Lead Executive Producer Valentina Barbazza – Senior Producer Juan Pérez de Rozas – Producer Paloma Bido – Producer Nathan Thompson - Creative Content Manager Andrew Aldridge - Senior Editor Landia Films Rodrigo Saavedra – Director Nicolas Cabuche – Executive Producer Maria Silva – Producer Charli Ritter – DoP Cristina Cavanillas – Production Manager Photographers Carles Carabí Rita Puig-Serra Cesar Lucadamo Guzmán Ferran Capo Sebastian Mayer

Leadership & Talent

Mastercard and McCann Found a Charming, Customizable Way to Unite the World's Top Athletes

'The Red Ball' tells a story that can feature different stars in different regions

David Griner

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

David Griner