From Balls to Eyeballs: how rich nations are losing more than games in this World Cup

One of the wonders of the FIFA World Cup must be that it puts all nations on an equal footing, regardless of their wealth. Since 1930, this gave poorer countries a fair and unique shot at publicly humiliating the established Rulers of the World.

But this year something new is happening: poor nations are gaining ground, beyond the scoreboard. The US, Japan, France, Italy and England lost more than early games.

If you've watched some footie these days you may have noticed ads on the side of the pitch for brands you never heard of before: once the exclusive province of American, European and Japanese brands, pitch-side advertising is also witnessing the rise of Emerging Nations.

Out of 14 official FIFA partners and World Cup sponsors, almost half are from nations that only 20 years ago were considered poor like India, China, Brazil or the UAE. Yingli, Satyam, MTN, Seara and Emirates now compete head-to-head for global media exposure with the once unchallenged Big Boys of the rich world.

Even Budweiser, sponsor the event since 1986 and now partly Brazilian-owned is ceding pitch-side exposure during some games to its InBev sister brands like Quilmes, Brahma and Harbin.

Emerging Markets brands, until recently unheard of in the world of global sponsorships are here, and here to stay. For anyone working on global brands today, brace yourself. This shift represents greater challenges and opportunities than you may think.

(here is the list of official FIFA sponsors since 1986)

World Cup: Ad Age's top 5

Very proud to see that last week AdAge listed Puma's work among the top 5 World Cup spots, based on total number of online hits.

This testimony of a solid strategic foundation coupled with a brilliantly conceived and executed campaign is particularly touching given Puma's relatively modest spend:

- Nike came out 1st on this list at a cost of a multi-millionaire execution and media buy.

- Adidas, the official sponsor of the event, didn't even make the cut in spite of counting on stars like Messi (the world's best player) and Zidane.

Enjoy,

Ar-gen-tina!

The 2010 World Cup is almost here, and we've all read plenty about the beautiful, the world's game. Although there is no discussion of where our allegiances lie, we are sometimes confronted with difficult questions:

- Because one nation is supposedly the football arch-enemy of yours, should you join your compatriots in wishing its defeat, even when you love everything about that country?

- When you suspect football is being used as a populist tool of cleptocracy, numbing the masses and accelerating of your country's decline, do you still want it to succeed?

Of course you do, even if it makes no sense at all.

Even if it contradicts everything you believe in.

Powerful stuff indeed.

2010 Brazilian beer commercial

2010 Argie commercial