One of the many aspects of ESPN’s World Cup advertising campaign I’ve enjoyed most so far has been the beautiful murals the TV network has used both in banner advertising and promotion for the biggest sports tournament. If you haven’t seen them yet, take a look at all 33 murals that were designed by ESPN’s agencies, Wieden+Kenny and AM I Collective. Thirty two were designed for every participating country and there’s one mural (pictured above) that is the main one for the 2010 World Cup.
According to ESPN, “Each painting brings to life the story of that nation. The look of the artwork is inspired by hand-painted African art found in the streets and townships across South Africa, and the entire African continent.”
I was fortunate to receive an overnight shipment from ESPN which features many of the posters from the 32 countries. Here are my top 15 favorites:
15. Brazil
14. Denmark
13. England
12. Germany
11. Honduras
10. Italy
9. Ivory Coast
8. Mexico
7. Netherlands
6. New Zealand
5. Paraguay
4. South Africa
3. Spain
2. Switzerland
1. USA
As you can see, these murals are works of art. They’re absolutely beautiful. And, not only that, but they’re very creative and colorful too. The amount of detail that goes into them is incredible. And each of them is very unique which is extremely hard to do when you’re tasked with creating 32 different ones.
Unfortunately, though, the murals are only for promotional purposes and are not available in stores. They’ll obviously be collector’s items for anyone who can get their hands on. And they’re a perfect example of the dedication, time and care that ESPN has put into this wonderful tournament. Kudos to ESPN and its agencies.
