Lay’s launched a new campaign idea as an official UEFA Champions League sponsor: “No Lay’s, no game”. So, we brought it to life through a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We made a football legend knock on random doors on game night. The premise for candid fans was simple: he was looking for a place to watch the match. But, there was a condition: there had to be Lay’s. Otherwise, he would keep on knocking on doors until he found the right spot. The stunt was recorded live by a guerrilla film crew and replicated globally with local football icons.

Lay’s has been one of the UEFA Champions League main sponsors since 2015, but its communication and creative were missing an angle to make the partnership more distinctive for the brand. The challenge was to find a link between the #1 chips brand and one of the most engaging football competitions in the world. And we found it by understanding football fans behaviors and different target audiences: watching football without eating Lay’s potato chips makes the experience incomplete.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for football fans.

On UEFA Champions League match days, we had some of the game’s biggest stars and football legends knocking on random doors. Looking for a place to watch the match. The only condition for them to stay? There had to be Lay’s. Otherwise they would move on and find another place. The whole stunt was recorded and used as multiplatform content.

Snacking is the backbone to watching football.

And within snacks, potato chips are preferred ones.

Lay’s being the #1 snack brand and #1 in the potato chip category globally, it seemed obvious that we needed to stress how well they go hand in hand.

To the point that should be unthinkable to watch football without Lay’s.

All we needed was to connect this truth into an idea that was tailored to the UEFA Champions League viewing occasion.

The campaign was launched with a film starred by Lionel Messi and a stunt with Thierry Henry, which took place on a UEFA Champions League game day and was replicated globally in different markets with local football icons. Hours before the match, the football legend knocked on random doors, looking for a place to watch the match. The only condition for them to stay was there had to be Lay’s at the place. Otherwise, they would have to keep on looking for a place.

1.25 Bn PR launch impressions

56 MM+ Views

1,528 articles covering the launch

47% average view through rate, with US Hispanic audience reaching 64% (OMD industry benchmark = 15%)

10% engagement (OMD industry benchmark = 1-2%)