Football Federation launches BMF’s ‘Fan Made’ ad

Hmmm, so football fans are idiots and thieves? Is that really the image the FFA wants to portray? Maybe if they were funny…

User ID not verified.

Joises! Shut up Skribe. Whoever you are you’re a knob!

I have nothing to do with this campaign but think it’s clever and funny. If they seriously wanted to stereotype Australian soccer fans, I’m pretty sure they could have gone done a whole other track…

You sound like a bitter little ad-man who lost the pitch. You like what I did there? Pitch? Get it? As in soccer? Get it!?

User ID not verified.

Because only your opinion counts and everyone should just stfu, right Long time?

User ID not verified.

Yeah – that’s it tough guy.

Give me three reasons why your first comment should be considered constructive in any way? Seriously!

I also notice that you’re a Singapore baed ex-pat, so am going to hazard an guess that you’re not necessarily the most qualified to comment on the nature of Australian football fans. Perhaps you’re a craky ex Perth Glory fan, that just wishes they could bring something home for the trophy cabinet?

I really love the way that some people feel that industry forums are an opportunity to slag off work done by other industry folk.

User ID not verified.

Yes, we are thieves.

User ID not verified.

It’s straight out of Wogs, Sheilas and Poofters. There is nothing positive about these fans. They are all losers. Hardly a great message from the FFA.

User ID not verified.

First Soccer ad that has got my interest…. i like it.

User ID not verified.

Hey long-time listener,
I’m from Scotland where football is the only sport that people really watch in the country and if they did an advert like that about my league I’d be well pissed off.
Painting football fans as thieves is really not the best way to go about getting people along to games.

They idea behind the ads is solid and it demonstrates the passion behind the game BUT that second ad pissed me off to no end and the first ad, while funny, is also pretty dumb.

Cheers,
Scott

PS Stop being a total fuckwit

User ID not verified.

Go Skribe – you’ve almost called it well. The FFA marketing guys are clueless and they will get nailed by all the pansy, nanny state do gooders and prudes for encoraging theft and nudity.

These ads will be off the air a week after they first run. Then they really will do something boring – which is more in line with the game itself.

User ID not verified.

Utter shit.

Outside US Baseball matches, I’ve never seen a body-painted fan, and I’ve been to most Sydney FC games and Manchester Utd back in the day.

No insight.

No ideas.

Oh, and please, no more clueless Aussie blokes staring vacantly at the camera at the end of ads. At least he didn’t say ‘what?’ which is the other massive Aussie cliche.

What is it about crap gags in ads?

I hate them.

User ID not verified.

so what are these ads actually for again….

User ID not verified.

Did anybody at BMF bother to go to a game?

It’s a family based entertainment.

It’s not english soccer hooligans knocking off sheets.

Miss on target. Miss on message. Miss on comedy.

Reality 3 vs BMF 0

User ID not verified.

I think as a campaign idea it is reasonably clever but should never have made it to tape. I find it extremely difficult to believe no one along the approval chain thought maybe we shouldn’t portray our fans as hooligans. Particularly football which has the fan violence stigma attached. I geuss they must have sold out of family passes…………

User ID not verified.

I think it’s great fun, it highlights the passion and atmosphere of the games created by the true custodians of the game – the fans.

I think it’s better than the cliched replays of goals and tackles accompanied by heavy guitar riffs.

It’s sad that in our over-regulated country (esp Victoria) that you guys are already calling for that ad to be banned. All I can say is “Lighten up”.

WS

User ID not verified.

OMG – such haters…

User ID not verified.

It must have been a conscious decision to portray hoodies in the ad, but I’ve never seen many of them at the grounds – is this really who they want to attract?

Nice idea – just abit underdone in the details of the execution. However full marks for not going down the ‘smiling fans plus aussie rock anthem’ or ‘ironman 3D fest’ routes.

User ID not verified.

sokkah fans seem to like it from what I’ve seen

User ID not verified.

To FAN. 2.11

Umm, not to dismiss your comment, but in the end-frame they show the real fan that the ad is based on. Fully body painted.

User ID not verified.

It’s just a bit of fun you idiots. Seriosuly, anyone who seriously thinks this ad portrays football fans as thieves is retarded.

User ID not verified.

I read the comments before viewing the ads. Really? Is this so offensive and/or rubbish? Seems like it’s meant to be tongue in cheek to me

User ID not verified.

Tongue-in-cheek is one thing. But flogging the same joke over and over?

I LOVE the basic concept, but I wished they’d had the imagination to show how different sorts of fans would go to extremes to show their support. Three ads about essentially the same bunch of gormless idiots… *sigh*

Maybe the FFA only paid for one punchline.

User ID not verified.

Reminds me of a typical exchange between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United fans.

User ID not verified.

Irreverent, tongue in cheek, watchable and all about soccer fan experience (yes I know you insist on calling it football but just making a point.)

Made me want to go to a game and I haven’t been to one for a few years.

I’d say it was written by an aficionado of his/her code. Rings truly. Well done.

User ID not verified.

Great to see something different, i’m sick of the same old football ads on at the moment. Spot on for the A-League too.

User ID not verified.

I prefer the older campaigns.

User ID not verified.

I thought the ads were funny. I don’t understand why men act this way when it comes to sports (like they take everything personally.) And I’m pretty sure, (and I don’t mean this the wrong way) fans are really like this in real-life, only much worse. But of course, I doubt they’d steal white sheets.

User ID not verified.

WTF? BMF have lost it. They were good for a while, but everything they do now is without genuine insight or strategy. I bet their planning department is doing briefs where the insight is “mothers are very busy” or in this case “soccer fans are passionate”. That’s not insight. That’s obvious. And dumb.

Like these ads.

User ID not verified.

You could tweak these ads and make them both more powerful and cater to a wider demographic. For instance, why not have kids (10yo or younger) stealing the sheets? I can imagine a group of kids who are passionate football fans doing that sort of thing. It’s much more socially acceptable than a group of hoodie teens.

And I presume the FFA would really like to encourage families to the games, so why is everyone in these ads a single, white male? Why couldn’t the painted guys be painted girls. Not only is it showing a different demographic of fans but it also adds that very effective ‘sex sells’ element – even if you keep it totally tasteful.

These ads are lazy, unfunny and I suspect will prove totally ineffective.

User ID not verified.

Skribe, some friendly advice, from a very rich man.

Skribe, pack it in. You’re beginning to make yourself look a little bit silly.

Your presumptions and imaginings (though I’m sure much appreciated by the FFA and BMF) are just that.

Perhaps leave this sort of thing to the professionals.

Please don’t bother to reply. I’m leaving soon for some time in the country.

I wish you well.

User ID not verified.

Never heard of BMF or ‘Brilliant Film’ as I’m not in the industry but I am a regular A-League football go-er and having originated in England I’ve been to see plenty of games there too. Me and all my football-going mates think that these ads are great. Just because people make banners, wear hoodies, sing songs at games or decide to wear body paint doesn’t make them hooligans. This is a common misconception based on ignorance. This isn’t England in the 80’s. Hooligans go around bashing people and looking to cause trouble. We go around looking to have a laugh and support our respective teams. I dare say that there’s more trouble created by rugby league fans these days.

Anyway – back on topic; all of the previous ad campaigns (and most Australian sporting ad campaigns in general) are targeted at families but, by and large, families aren’t fans, they’re spectators. Sure they turn up and pay their money but then they sit there and expect to be entertained. It’s no different to if they were going to the cinema to watch a film. Genuine football fans, on the other hand, support their club through thick and thin and go to great lengths to demonstate this through noise (singing), colour (banners, tifo’s etc) and movement (standing instead of sitting down, jumping up and down when the team scores etc). We are part of the entertainment and we’re what seperates football from all of the other sporting codes. The FFA would be mad not to tap into this market to a/ engage with and recognise those who are already involved in active support at football games, b/ get more people to join in the fun and grow the number of active football fans at games, and c/ promote the atmosphere at live matches to the kids and families because it is a unique sporting experience that can’t be fully appreciated from the lounge-room arm chair whilst watching television. Anyway why does EVERYTHING have to be family friendly?! Yes, sure, families should ALWAYS be welcomed and indeed actively encouraged to attend games. However there should also be a place for like-minded adults to be able to enjoy the game without having to sit down, keep quiet and behave like a monk/nun for 90 minutes so that the kids don’t get scared/frustrated/influenced/corrupted/exposed to the real world. This isn’t Disneyland. Just like there are corporate boxes for posh people to go and waste their money, there should also be a place for the average punter to be able to go and sing their heart out for 90 minutes in support of their team.

Fair comment about the lack of females in these ads but, let’s be honest, the vast majority of genuine football fans are blokes. Therefore these ads are representative of this fact. Having said that I have been to watch games with numerous females in the past and there are plenty that get right into it and good on them. It’s certainly not a male-only activity and I’m sure you’ll find that women are most welcome to get involved with active supporters. No prejudices here.

One thing that I will say is that portrayal of fans nicking bed sheets off a clothes line is a step too far. I’ve never heard of that happening and it does create the false impression that football fans are thieves and petty criminals (I’m sure some are but they come from all walks of life don’t they?). Despite this though I do still find that ad quite funny and the focus is clearly on the fact that not everyone knows what they’re doing in terms of active support re the floral bedsheet. From my experience football fans spend considerable sums of their own money to have banners and flags professionally made. If not they put a lot of time and effort, blood, sweat and tears into making these themselves using bought bedsheets or fabric. Because of this I found the ads based in the fabric shop particularly funny.

Anyway lecture over – all of you nanny-state types chill out and let us football fans enjoy our rare and deserved moment of recognition. It’s us that create the atmosphere that helps to make the football product so appealing to consumers, who spend their money to keep the clubs and the league going. Without this there’d be no FFA and no Socceroo’s which would mean you wouldn’t have enjoyed the recent World Cup experience quite as much and there’d be no chance of us hosting the 2022 World Cup. Try getting yourself down to an A-League game some time and listen to us sing and watch us wave our flags and banners. You never know, you might just like it :p

User ID not verified.

FFA have failed in another campaign. I have been part of the supporter group scene and understand why these guys will love it but these ads will do nothing to inspire people about the A-League. They in no way convey that going to football is an Australian pasttime.
On the back of the World Cup where the Socceroos showed us again how Australians play football for Australians, these ads bring us back to earth to realise that the A-League is really a niche market – adolescent males. At the start of the 6th A-League season and on the back of a second World Cup appearance in a row, you would think that the FFA would have got it by now.
They got so close with the World Cup 2018-2022 bid ad. They represented Australia in its diversity and showed how football can be part of our communities and our landscape. Come-on FFA, the A-League is important! Stop selling it short!

User ID not verified.

I love these ads, there is only one thing that i would change – Instead of Teenagers stealing bedsheets off the line, a better way to go would have been to see Dad bringing 6 yr old son out of the bedroom carrying the bedsheet and explaining to wife that youngster had a wet night, cut away to the boys ducking out the back door and a pot of paint in the backyard, (doing sheet up as a banner). That would have been much more enjoyable to watch and gets away from any negative connotations of fans as theives.

User ID not verified.

these ads preach to the choir. the fanatics portrayed here go to these games anyway and they are few in numbers.
being the most popular played junior sport in australia you’d think the FFA would be trying to tap into this massive market and appeal other fringe enthusiasts of the game. these spots will only scare young families away and reinforce the notion that these matches are secular and aggressive all in the name of a few unfunny inappropriate gags. would you really want you and your family to be surrounded by these knuckleheads for a couple of hours on a sunday?

oh and come on guys…bodypainted crazy fans have to be the most overused cliché is sports advertising…

User ID not verified.

Crewcut. You are absolutely spot on and your idea about the father and son is a much better one. After reflecting on it, the theme is not a bad one, its just that the demographic is just too narrowly defined. The Sydney FC ad could actually be a good one if they weren’t all wearing black hoodies and the main character wasn’t so arrogant and condescending to “Betty”. I’ve actually been in that exact situation and the saleswomen love helping you out. The Fury ad works the best for me. I hate the sheet stealing ad. It is the gang-like criminal activity references that turn me off, not the larrikin over the top Aussie supporter. Females get just as involved in these activities as males. Maybe the makers of the ads have just watched underbelly too often.

User ID not verified.

I like the ads, they made me smile, and I’m excited about the new season starting. I did wish though while watching them that as a female football fan, I was more represented. I’m all into the passion and the sentiment, but you’ll find plenty of girls in The Cove too.

User ID not verified.

these are more annoying than a thousand vuvuzelas

User ID not verified.