Whether we are just admirers of them or we just like to practice them ourselves, we highly appreciate sports, as they play an important role in our lives. Sport is one of the reasons we go out and play with our friends, and it is also the glue that gathers us in front of the TV. The appetite for recreational habits is on the rise worldwide and not even quarantine has stopped us from expressing our passion for such activities.

There are billions of sports fans worldwide but most of them prefer football (with 3.5 billion supporters). For some, this sport runs in the nation’s DNA, such as the case of Brazilians, who don’t discuss football only during the game but also during family gatherings, which is why Brazil is known as “país do futebol” (“the country of football” in English). One of the biggest Brazilian clubs in the number of fans is Corinthians, a sports club founded in 1910.

Currently, “Timão” (“big team”) is supported by the appreciation of 30 million fans. This dedication that fans have shown over the past 100 years has not gone unrewarded. In 2010, as a sponsor of the team, Nike decided to celebrate both the fans and the players, dedicating an entire “country” to them. With boundaries drawn by agency F / Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi and documents imagined by the studio of fine art Black Madre, the new-born state received the name of “República Popular do Corinthians.”

During this week’s #ThrowBrandThursday, we are making a leap into the past, so we land in Brazil in 2010, witnessing the birth of a new republic. The new nation had its own legislation and documents such as birth certificates and passports. It had its own currency and a flag. Even the election of the president took place as smoothly as possible: Former Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who always identified himself as a fan of the club, was picked as the nation’s first president: “I go out with my Corinthians passport, my wife’s passport, and my children will certainly have a passport as well. I don’t want anyone living underground in the People’s Republic of Corinthians,” da Silva said as he took over the state’s leadership.

The president’s appearance had a positive impact on the campaign: “Sports personalities, artists, and people of renown or with exposure and charisma can always be associated with campaigns of this type adding value to them. […] In the case of Lula, his life story and being a fan of Corinthians contributed to this association, ” said Mauricio Fragata, professor of Sports Marketing at the MBA in Management and Marketing of Sports Entities at Anhembi Morumbi University and COO of ONE International Sports Business.

In a recent interview of Brandingmag with one of the campaign’s copywriters, Pedro Prado, we discover that this is an ad that made history. In fact, it is ‘Papito’s’ all-time favorite ad made by him: “I’d like to mention República Popular do Corinthians, for Nike. A job that started small, as a launch of a new commemorative jersey to celebrate the club’s 100th anniversary. A gig made on a small budget, but carefully and beautifully crafted, I like to think. It started small but ended up huge. It touched the fans’ hearts, made the news for several weeks, became a model case for Nike worldwide, and sold loads of jerseys.” The campaign paid off, scooping many awards at prestigious events. It was so successful that Nike thought of exporting this idea to other clubs from abroad.

Now, we’re not as picky as the Corinthians are, so you need no documentation, passport, or corinthios to pay for your entrance to the virtual gallery that honors both footballers and fans of this game.

Credits:

Client: Nike

Agency: F / Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi

Studio: Black Madre

GIF: Pedro Prado