Mark Harris writes:

Football is watched the world over and is the reason why it’s one of the most over-saturated commercial markets in the world. There can’t be much left in the game that hasn’t or isn’t covered in a brand name or logo. So how do you create awareness or stand out from the crowd?

Well in Brazil, FC Vitoria have carved out a very simple but affective promotion to help promote the government’s “Give Blood” campaign.

Football is in the blood of most Brazilians, but blood donor levels are very low and the Ministry of Health wanted use the country’s interest in football to raise awareness. So, FC Vitoria launched the campaign, “My blood is red and black”, after the club’s colours and their nickname.

The campaign saw the team remove the familiar red from their kit and begin the season in an unfamiliar white and black striped version. The famous red stripes would only be reintroduced as blood donor goals were reached thru the season.

With the season less than a month old, 50,000 new donors have already registered and the team are unbeaten, so it looks like it’s worked on both sides. Back of the net.

You can follow it all HERE – if you can read The Portuguese.