Friendly rivalries are an inevitable and fun part of big sporting events like the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but sometimes playful competitiveness turns into pure racism in sports. Over the last few years, racism has been a huge issue in soccer in particular. To show that color makes absolutely no difference, Botafogo staged 'The Inverted Jersey.'
The stunt involved creating a ton of hype about the special new jerseys that the Brazilian Botafogo team would be wearing during one of its matches. Eager onlookers saw no difference, which was exactly the point—the team's uniforms had in fact been changed from having black and white stripes to white and black stripes, but the change wasn't noticeable. Although uniform changes aren't common, an exception was made for these uniforms that represent unity against racism.
What's Driving This Trend
- Anti-racism Sports Gear
- Opportunity for sports gear companies to develop anti-racism merchandise in response to rising awareness and activism.
- Invisible Design
- Opportunity for designers to create subtle but impactful design innovations that can convey powerful social messages.
- Stunts for Social Justice
- Opportunity for marketing and advertising agencies to help brands create attention-grabbing stunts that promote important social causes.
Who This Affects Most
- Sports Apparel
- Opportunity for sports apparel brands to address social issues through their products, and become a voice for social change.
- Design
- Opportunity for designers to use their skills to bring attention to social issues, and make a positive impact.
- Marketing and Advertising
- Opportunity for marketing and advertising agencies to leverage their creativity to help brands promote important social issues in new, attention-grabbing ways.
