Prank marketing? Beer, football and some fiendish conspiring

Many male readers will sympathise about having to miss an important football match because of other engagements. (If you’re as sad as me, you’ll have all the fixtures in your diary so you check before you agree to do anything). Those less keen on football find it hard to understand how missing a football match can be such a big deal.

JWT used this common disagreement to their advantage in this very clever campaign for Heineken.

Over 200 accomplices were used to trick 1136 Italian students, boyfriends and journalists into missing a vital Champions League fixture: AC Milan versus Real Madrid. Much to their annoyance, they would spend an evening watching a combination of poetry and classical music. Little did they know that they would be in for a big surprise - and it would be broadcast to 1.5 million people.

Watch the video below to see the results.