What is there left for Hublot to do? On Thursday 9 June 2016, just a few hours before Euro 2016 kicked off, the watchmaker proved the breadth of its talent and its influence. It used both to bring together two living gods of football: Pelé and Diego Maradona. The King and the Immortal One.
Symbol of unity
Ricardo Guadalupe, who presided over the event, was unable to conceal his delight. The Hublot CEO lost no time in stating that this was “a great day for football”, before waxing even more lyrical and making the claim that it was also “a great day for humanity.” Is that all? But, what if he’s right?
Given the incredible charisma that the two superstars still exude, maybe it’s not such an outrageous claim. There is good reason to wonder whether their friendship, celebrated on a football field, could do more to unite the human race than any number of political speeches. The crowd of star-struck onlookers would never have dared to hope to see them walk onto the pitch together, hand in hand.
Once in a lifetime
Pelé, who is now 75 years old, wasn’t as quick on his feet, and looked understandably a little tired, as he has every right to be, as the only player in history to have won three World Cups. Diego Maradona, the 50-year-old Immortal One, nevertheless played two short 15-minute halves alongside Angelo Peruzzi, David Trezeguet, Marco Materazzi, Ciro Ferrara, Clarence Seedorf, Rio Ferdinand, Dida, Bebeto, Hernan Crespo and Fernando Hierro. The Hand of God was nowhere to be seen, but Maradona’s popularity remained unchallenged.
The score – 8-8 – was much as expected for a match that was all about equality, friendship, and a shared love and passion for football. “Pelé and Maradona on the same pitch – you only see that once in your life,” noted Ricardo Guadalupe. “We have sponsored football since 2006, ten years ago. This is our third Euro. With Pelé and Maradona we attempted the impossible, and we succeeded. It’s an unbelievable achievement, which would not have been possible without the Minister of Culture,” he concluded, referring to the location of the football pitch, in the courtyard of the magnificent Palais Royal, home of the French Culture Ministry.
Common ground
There are few brands prepared to go to so much effort. Historically, Audemars Piguet has supported the Swiss national team, Ebel sponsors Geneva’s Servette FC, and Maurice Lacroix supports FC Barcelona. They all came rather late to the game, given that Vulcain was supporting Real Madrid fifty years ago!
Today the strategy underlined by this Pelé-Maradona match had just one aim for Hublot: to bring together the generations represented by these two players, who are both now well past 50, with the younger generations who idolise them, and who are all potential future clients of the brand. Efficient, and no doubt effective. If we can imagine such a thing as a big, round, football-shaped marketing cake, Hublot hasn’t left many crumbs for anyone else.
