Billboard of the Week - Nike, Bayern Munich

Are you looking for a new way to drive attention to your organization's star athletes? Are you searching for new ways to implement a unique billboard campaign?

In 2007, Nike took its soccer branding to another level when it plastered a giant billboard of Bayern Munich's star player Franck Ribery on the side of the Catholic Church of St. Kajetan (commonly referred to as the Theatinerkirche). In the ad, Nike heralded Ribery (a new signee) as the new king of Bavaria, dressing him up in a king's garb for the campaign.

The campaign was very controversial on two (2) fronts:

• For a few days, Nike positioned the ad on the side of the church (a very unlikely place to feature a billboard campaign)
• Franck Ribery is muslim (which was controversial for some of the church's followers)

Nonetheless, it was a very interesting campaign that peaked the interest of many around the globe. It wouldn't be surprising to see Nike feature a similar ad for "King" LeBron James at the Buckingham Palace if the NBA continues its efforts into Europe and the Far East! 

Check out Nike's campaign below:

Source: Flickr Photos - airmax808 / Content: Wissens-Werkstatt.net