Shackleton Madrid S.L.

Client: Uber
Product: Uber
Title: Romeo and Julio
Media: digital
Country: Spain
Date Of Campaign: 10/04/2019

Background: More than 32 million people in Spain (70%) say they are interested in football, an industry in which brands invest over 350 million euros per year on sponsorship. The Seville Derby, also known as the “Gran Derby”, belongs to an exclusive group known as the great classics of world football. The rivalry goes beyond football to form part of the social and cultural life of a city, Seville, where everything is lived with great passion: religion and leisure, with its world famous “Semana Santa” (Holy Week) and “Feria de Abril” (April Fair), social interactions and, of course, football.The challenge was to leverage sponsorship of Sevilla FC and Real Betis Balompié, tying in Uber’s football narrative, “There is football, let’s go”, putting rivalries aside through values like respect, tolerance and diversity to improve its low brand sentiment caused by the taxi sector and constant negative mentions of Uber.

Idea: Capitalising on the “Gran Derby” in April 2019, Uber launched a communications campaign revolving around a short film directed by the renowned, award-winning Spanish filmmaker, Fernando Colomo. It tells the story of Romeo and Julio, a gay couple from Seville who decide to get married in spite of opposition from their respective families.At first, the story plays on the prejudices of the viewer, suggesting that the conflict lies in the couple’s homosexuality, when the real problem ends up being the fact that the two families support rival teams. The campaign tackles a taboo subject in the world of football, that of homosexuality, and promotes a plural and inclusive approach over and above any kind of rivalry or sentiment.

Results: • BRAND SENTIMENT: 95% of mentions on the campaign were positive vs. the usual 12% average for the brand in Spain.• 3M+ views• 7K+ mentions• 13M+ reachDuring a 4-day period (from 10/04 to 13/04)• Powerful impact with 15-minute coverage on national and international TV channels. • Coverage by Spain’s top four sports media: AS, Marca, Mundo Deportivo and Sport.• Online brand presence: Uber is mentioned in 96% of online publications (Headlines 48%, Body 90%).• Embedded video: "Romeo & Julio" appears in 92% of online news (in 46 out of 51 publications).• Coverage beyond the Spanish media landscape by more than 20 publications in the international media.