Brahma and the exiled FC Mariupol

Since 1953, Brahma beer has been a main partner of Brazilian football. They were there when Brazil won five times the World Cup. 

But not only that, In 1969, they were there when Brazilian football helped stop a war in Nigeria. In 2004, they were there when Brazilian football helped stop a war in Haiti. Brahma believes that football has already stopped many wars. But no war will ever stop the spirit of football.

“Football has the power of bringing people together under the same passion. So we can keep their hope alive until FC Mariupol can come back home” says Illia Balaban, Chief Creative Officer and CEO of Who Are You Agency, from Ukraine.

Ukraine has always been supportive of Brazilian football, many players launched their careers in Europe due to the visibility and opportunities they received playing in the Ukrainian League. Over the years the country became an important gateway for players to enter the European market.

In a show of solidarity with war-torn Ukraine, Brahma and the Ukrainian community in southern Brazil has taken the unprecedented action of renaming their local football team after the now disbanded Ukrainian club from Mariupol.

Because of the large Ukrainian community in the Prudentopolis region, many Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict in their home country ended up in southern Brazil. This makes the move very personal for many of the local residents, who overwhelmingly support the effort.

The São Paulo ad agency Africa in response created a vibrant and many layered campaign that tells the story of how the Ukrainian community embraced FC Mariupol and their once proud city. The campaign includes a video, a website, out-of-home, digital ads, and more.