The company's IMC director Monali Shah tasked FCB to engage the myriad EPL fans in Nigeria to ensure that they would "offer Coca-Cola a seat at their table" during the 2020 season.

"In Nigeria, football is not just a game; it is a way of life," Shah says. "The fans here live the EPL seven days a week and not just on match days. Coca-Cola wanted to honour these fans and their passion for the game every day — not just during the 90 minutes of play."

"The big ask to the agency was to ensure that the brand stood out in the sea of EPL communications and to create a campaign that resonated with the fans and invited Coca-Cola to become part of their conversations," Shah adds.

After visiting Nigeria to uncover consumer insights, the company says that the 'Banter Better with Coca-Cola' campaign was fine-tuned.

The campaign is an integrated campaign featuring:
  • a TVC
  • social executions
  • PR
  • out-of-home
  • shopper activations, and
  • customer partnerships.
The campaign, according to FCB, aims to speak directly to the passion of the fans, who "constantly banter with each other about the league, the teams, the performances and the statistics".

The TVC driving the campaign was created by FCB's team, comprising:
  • executive creative director Suhana Gordhan
  • copywriter Mbeu 'Snooze' Kambuwa
  • art director Jonathan Wolberg, and
  • collaboration from designers Liana Liebenberg and Thabang Lehobye.


According to Gordhan, the insights informing the creative approach are grounded in West African fans' relationship with the league's clubs. "The key difference between a West African fan's relationship with the club [that] he or she supports and that of a fan in the United Kingdom is choice." 

"In the United Kingdom, you don't choose your club; you are born into it. For this reason, if someone disrespects your football club, they disrespect your place of birth, your home and your family. As a result, there's an aggressive, territorial undertone to football banter and discussions," adds Gordhan.

"By contrast, in West Africa, they choose who they support and are drawn to a club by its popularity and performance. Banter is, therefore, friendly and sporting — a passion point," says Gordham.

"What's more, banter in the West African EPL context, brings people together. [It's] never aggressive, it is a way of good-naturedly sharing your knowledge of the game and building anticipation for the coming weekend’s battles on the pitch," Gordham says.

"And, while what happens on the pitch is fair banter fodder, that's where the battle stays … on the pitch," Gordham concludes. 

The TVC was directed by Anton Visser of Patriot Films with post-production from Left Post. Tiger Fight composed the soundtrack. The campaign broke in Nigeria in December 2019.

For more information, visit www.fcb.co.za.