Brand Inc. creates a thumb-stopping social campaign to launch the FIFA 22 Championship on The Toyota Gaming Engine

Brand Inc., the creative sponsorship agency from the HaveYouHeard Group, heroed the humble thumb in a new campaign to promote a nation-wide FIFA 22 tournament, hosted on The Toyota Gaming Engine (TTGE).

The tournament saw some of the country’s top FIFA players go head-to-head for R60 000 in prize money alongside an open playing field of anyone with a thumb.

The campaign ignited a spat between Jason Goliath and Kwesta that culminated in a feud-settling exhibition match hosted at the TTGE ‘Thumbderdome’ in front of a stadium crowd of cheering thumbs. This featured a live half-time performance from Kwesta’s own thumb and backing band ‘The Cuticles’, with thumbentary by local shoutcaster Sam ‘Tech Girl’ Wright and comedian Glen Biederman-Pam’s thumb.

Thanks to the agency’s unusual and highly engaging approach, the campaign quickly gained traction on social with thousands of viewers drawn in by the drama, the rivalry, the action, and the shameless thumb puns.

Watch to see how the feud escalated into an all-out thumb war: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbcUXrJDieq/

Dubbed ‘Thumbderdome: Battle of the Opposables’, the campaign’s key objective was to spike interest in the Toyota Gaming Engine and Toyota Gaming content with all kinds of South Africans - not just avid gamers or gaming fans.

“Esports is one of the biggest and fastest growing sports in the world. Not just for players, but for fans and a growing audience of spectators who love the entertainment built around the sport”, said the agency’s Head of Sponsorships, Izak van der Walt.

“To get the best return for Toyota we created content that was impossible to scroll past whether you’re a die-hard fan of FIFA or not.”

“People are on social for the content, not the ads,” said Joshua de Kock, Creative Director. “We needed to find a fresh, entertaining way to cut through.

“We thought ‘Who are the unsung heroes of gaming?’ looked down at our hands in wonder and realised it’s the THUMB. Thumbs dragged us out of the primordial soup, thumbs gave us the tools to master the wilderness, and thumbs are how we destroy our opponents in FIFA.

“So, we created a campaign that puts thumbs front and centre, told in the tone of epic, ridiculous action movies, and crafted with the aesthetic of memes.

“We recruited Kwesta and Jason Goliath to help us lead the charge, and they went from throwing shade on social, to training their thumbs for the ultimate throw down in the Thumbderdome with a best-of-3 FIFA tournament of their own. Kwesta won 2-1 after his thumb performed live at the Thumbderdome Half-Time Show.”

Watch them train here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbffWevlMPz/ and here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbff459F6GW/ and check out Kwesta’s performance here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CcGFG0bjcSM/

Thanks to the campaign, entries into the tournament were snapped up within three hours of opening, and campaign content earned over 12.3 million impressions and 235k engagements in just 4 weeks with an AVE of R3.6 million.

You can view the whole campaign here:

• The video that launched Thumbderdome to South Africa: https://www.instagram.com/p/CazHmsEqw6O/
• The feud escalates into a celebrity exhibition match: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbcUXrJDieq/
• Jason’s Thumb goes into training: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbffWevlMPz/
• Goliath’s Thumb goes into training: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbff459F6GW/
• Trailer to the grand finale: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbxcevSDzTr/
• The full grand finale, voiced over by celebrity “thumbentators” Glen Biderman-Pam and Sam “Tech girl” Wright: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbxcevSDzTr/

Brand Inc. is the creative sponsorship agency from the HaveYouHeard Group, an integrated collection of entrepreneurial creative businesses, immersed in culture to influence it.

Credits:
Agency: Brand Inc. – HaveYouHeard Group
Executive Creative Director: Dan Berkowitz
Creative Directors: Joshua de Kock, Wade Barnes
Copywriters: Joshua de Kock, Sumani Mjojo
Art Directors: Wade Barnes, Roxanne Simpson
Project Managers: Izak van der Walt, Lise-Jo Snyman, Sinethemba Witbooi, Lisa Jansen van Vuuren
Content Director: Jon Savage
Content Producer: Jerome Williams
Influence Manager: Denver Burgess
Digital Lead: Sue Disler