Welcome once more to the Trippant Takeaways, our weekly selection of stories highlighting trends, best practice and provocative ideas in communications across sport, entertainment, technology and culture.
Fast Company on Fifa’s gaming misstep
The Fifa World Cup ends on Sunday with a titanic-looking final between Argentina and holders France, and a face-off between the two stars of the tournament – Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, teammates at Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain.
It’s quite the send-off for a narratively dense tournament and it’s not the only Fifa-related ending coming up. Earlier this year, football’s global governing body broke off its near 30-year video game licensing partnership with EA Sports, which put out a World Cup-related update to its Fifa 23 title last month.
As Fast Company reminds us, the video game publisher will probably part ways on better terms, as Fifa rebuilds its digital world from scratch.
The Times on Cristiano Ronaldo’s mixed messaging
One football superstar whose World Cup has not finished well is Cristiano Ronaldo. The former Manchester United forward made a tearful exit from his last tournament appearance, just days after being dropped from Portugal’s first eleven.
Back in the UK, meanwhile, he has drawn the ire of the Advertising Standards Authority, which has warned him to be clearer about sponsored posts to his hundreds of millions of social media followers.
Deadline and The Independent on a sports doc double-header
Anyone already lining up their first binge-watch of 2023 should mark their calendars for 13th January, with two high-profile sports documentary series set to drop on the same day.
Apple TV+ will be offering Super League: The War For Football, which has gathered some of the principals on both sides of a seismic breakaway attempt by 12 of Europe’s richest clubs in the spring of 2021.
On Netflix, Drive to Survive creators Box to Box Films will be hoping to do for tennis what they did for Formula 1. Break Point will go behind the scenes on the ATP Tour, the WTA Tour and the four Grand Slams, using unprecedented access to try and bring new stories and personalities to a wider audience.
Fast Company on the ‘train wreck’ Twitter Blue logo
The Twitter Blue subscription service has had what might diplomatically be called a bumpy rollout under the company’s new ownership. Now, its accompanying logo is being described as ‘a full double rainbow of garish taste, gibberish, and absurd artifice that is all gloss and zero substance’.
So… a good fit, then?
Marketing Week on the two sides of selling this winter
Brands and retailers are in festive overdrive and with the present-buying season in its closing stretch, Marketing Week has shared some gifting tips from behavioural scientists – including pitching the giver, rather than the receiver.
Meanwhile, with brands wondering how to address this winter’s cost-of-living crisis, a column in the same publication recommends an emphasis on reliability and quality over sympathetic gestures.
The Ringer on Avatar and 3D media
Avatar: The Way of Water – the sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all time – hits cinemas this week. The original’s spectacular visuals were a huge selling point for the concept of 3D cinema but as The Ringer explores, its technological and cultural legacy are complicated.
A tender farewell to Grant Wahl
The football media world has been paying tribute this week to Grant Wahl, the pioneering and much-admired American journalist who died suddenly while covering a game at Qatar 2022. In a poignant note, his wife Dr Céline Gounder gives thanks for an outpouring of support and affection.
Trippant can help your company grow through communication, creating purposeful change through PR, thought leadership and strategy. To find out more – or get in touch – head to our website.
