Ebay 'Lists' Footballers Roberto Carlos And Eni Aluko In New Ad

This transfer window season, eBay UK is giving football fans across the country the chance of a lifetime to sign football legends Roberto Carlos and Eni Aluko to their Sunday League teams for one unforgettable match with eBay’s Dream Transfer.

To showcase eBay’s community ethos of being the ‘people’s marketplace’, partnering with creative lead agency, McCann London, and media agency MediaCom, eBay Dream Transfer’s integrated campaign will bring the excitement of the transfer window to local clubs.

Working with media partners including Sky Sports and Joe Media, and youth charity Football Beyond Borders, the campaign aims to take the famous January transfer window, a typically exclusive, cultural moment reserved for football’s elite - and democratise it; offering it up to anyone and everyone, no matter who they are or where they live in the UK - through one-game Sunday League contracts, openly listed on eBay all for a fiver.

eBay is renowned for being a place where surprising value is found every day, and now World Cup winner and former Real Madrid Galactico Roberto Carlos, and ex-Juventus and Chelsea women’s starlet Eni Aluko can join the pantheon of famous eBay stories. Utilising the power of the eBay marketplace for good, both players have ‘listed themselves’ complete with bespoke, playful write-ups.

All participants need to do is enter via a £5 raffle ticket with all proceeds donated to social inclusion charity Football Beyond Borders.

Founded in 2013, Football Beyond Borders was set up to change the lives of young people who may be passionate about football but not fulfilling their potential at school and more than 2,000 young people have already benefited from its programmes.

With portraiture and content shot by Amit & Naroop (At Trayler), the broader integrated campaign will play out across January, Transfer Deadline Day and beyond, including teaser films, paid-for and organic online social, TVC, onsite takeovers, all accumulating in ‘Match Day’ films once winners are announced.

Influencers including Sky Sport’s Kelly Cates, Chris Kamara and transfer gossip icon Fabrizio Romano feature throughout the campaign.

Eve Williams, chief marketing officer at eBay UK said: “Bringing communities together who have a shared passion is what eBay’s marketplace is all about. We wanted to kick off 2022 in a big way to celebrate one of the UK’s biggest collective passions - football - and to make it accessible to everyone - all while supporting Football Beyond Borders, a fantastic charity that does great work to help young people reach their full potential through sport. We’re thrilled to be working alongside legends Carlos and Aluko and look forward to seeing which lucky Sunday league team gets them on their pitch.”

Matt Searle, creative director at McCann London added: “In recent times the ‘Beautiful Game’ has gotten ugly. Tarnished by elitism, the football pyramid and communities who thrive because of it, are in threat of being left behind. But, by using eBay we set out to democratise the biggest marketplace of all: with bags of heart, a lot of fun, a Serie A champ, and a World Cup winner. Can Carlos bend it in Bromley? You bet he can. Can Aluko do it on a wet night in Stoke? Just watch her shine! And best of all? Either legend is yours on eBay, for the price of a pint - with funds raised going to a good cause. Now that’s something we can all cheer.”

The work builds off the back of The English Football League (EFL) and eBay’s Small Businesses United three-year partnership that celebrates the businesses powering local communities around all 72 EFL clubs.

MediaCom’s Sport & Entertainment Director, Alex Brown said: “The transfer window is one of the most exciting moments in football every year, but the smaller clubs are always left out. Our campaign with eBay builds on the success we’ve already seen with Small Business United and aims to democratise football to bring it back to the local clubs and businesses where it all started for so many. With world famous footballers and pundits onboard, we’ll deliver a transfer window like no other this year across all major platforms.”

Enter for the chance to play with Roberto Carlos and Eni Aluko here.

CREDITS

eBay UK:

Chief Marketing Officer: Eve Williams

Head of Brand Marketing: Alex Allcott

Head of Partnerships: Faisal Alani

Head of Consumer PR: Menreet Kaur

Head of Marketing Operations & Onsite Creative Strategy: Ed Maule & Kirsten Freeman

Social Media & Content Manager: Jack Francis

PR Manager: Annie Shields

Onsite Senior Account Manager: Isabell Proschak

Marketing Executive: Eva Lamerton

eBay for Charity Lead: Melissa Selwood

eBay for Charity Intern: Amelia Buttery

McCann London

Chief Creative Officers: Laurence Thomson & Rob Doubal

Chief Strategy Officer: Theo Izzard-Brown

Executive Creative Directors: Ray Shaughnessy & Dan Norris

Creative Directors: Matt Searle & Olly Wood

Creative Team: Connor Wynn & Jack Stoten

Global Business Lead: Sailesh Jani

Business Director: Tom Oliver

Account Director: Conor Lloyd

Account Manager: Katie Dumbrell

Account Associate: Sasha Semple

Strategy Director: Harrison Steinhart

Senior Planner: Jonathan Bender

Project Director: Clare Prager

Project Manager: Neil Tingey

Head of Design: Lisa Carrana

Design Director: Andy McGuigan

Craft

Head of Integrated Production: Sophie Chapman-Andrews

Executive Producer: Alec Christie

Senior Producer and produced by: Claire Welberry

Post producer: Shawn Sobers

AFX/Editor: Chris Jordan

3D Artist: Marc Khachfe

Post-Production by Craft

Implementation Director: Sandra Perrier-Faucher

Implementation Manager: Barbara Puddu

Account Director: Joe Michaelides

Senior Print Producer: Liam White

Photography Executive: Aisling Duffy

Senior Photography Executive: Nikki Bryan

Retoucher: Joseph Lewis & Gary Hardwick

Media: MediaCom

PR: Weber Shandwick

Charity PR: Launch

Influencer: Seen Connect

Onsite Production: Feed

Senior Account Director: Ross Moore (Feed)

Senior Account Manager: Sarah Roberts (Feed)

Account Director: Rosie Shipp (That Lot)

Social Media Strategist: Mark Shpungin (That Lot)

Production Company

Production Company: At Trayler

Photographer/Director: Amit & Naroop

Exec Producer & produced by: Kay Edwards

Producer Milan: Krisitan Arija

Producer Paris: Charlotte Cohen

Production Assistant: Bonnie Ophelia

DOP: Jacob Schule Lewis