OBJECTIVE: Despite the disassociation between football and engine oil, Castrol wanted to utilize its FIFA World Cup Sponsorship to boost brand awareness and promote its “best performance” messaging.
INSIGHT: Japanese interest in the World Cup was the lowest it had been in the past 16 years, but their interest in man vs. machine had not wavered.
ACTION: By combining engine oil and football we set out to build an engine-powered machine that would deliver the world’s fastest free kick, over 200 km/h. The development process was documented on the Castrol website for five months with consumers offering encouragement each step of the way. The public showing of Castrol Ichi-Go was met with an abundance of press and spectators who were not disappointed. The ball was kicked 206 km/h.
REACTION: The free kick machine generated huge global buzz with over 2 million hits on Google and an estimated media effect in Japan alone worth 500 million yen.