NICKLAS BENDTNER & COMEON!

In 2021 Nicklas Bendtner entered into a partnership with ComeOn!. It was a one-year agreement where he was the face of the company, helping them create awareness of their brand in Denmark.

Bendtner started his professional career at Arsenal as a 16-year-old, and played there for nine years, and has played for international clubs such as Sunderland, Juventus, Wolfsburg, Rosenborg and F.C. Copenhagen. He has played 81 matches for the Danish national team, where he scored an impressive 30 goals, making him the fifth-highest goal scorer for the national team in recent years.

ComeOn! is a Swedish gaming company founded in 2018 and has been in Denmark since 2019. This case originated in their wish for a better communication strategy in Denmark. It’s a company that is known for their edgy and entertaining commercials and they’re not afraid of challenging the market by differentiating their approach to potential customers.

They wanted to have an ambassador who had that edge and wasn’t afraid of trying new things. f Sports Group saw an instant connection with the former football legend Nicklas Bendtner. The match was perfect! Almost every Dane knows Bendtner and his charismatic personality fits ComeOn!’s vision for their communication strategy.

Jacob Schytte, responsible for ComeOn! in Denmark, about the partnership:

“We are super happy to have Bendtner on board. Nicklas is a person people either hate or love, but that is precisely what makes him who he is – and what we love him for. He is someone who has always challenged the normalities, like ComeOn! wants to do in Denmark”.

Nicklas Bendtner too was excited about the partnership and liked the approach that ComeOn! had in regards on how to create awareness of their brand in Denmark. He said:

“ComeOn! is a challenger in Denmark who wants to do things differently in an informal, entertaining and fun way – I like that. My primary role will be to be the face of ComeOn! so you will probably see a lot of me in the future. I will not act as a game expert, I am going to leave that to other people. Instead, the agreement with ComeOn! is that we will create an entertaining partnership where there will be room to do things in a new way.”

The first commercial was made with a lot of humor and referred to an old situation where Bendtner really became the talk of the town. ComeOn! made a video commercial where you see Bendtner having a great time at the kitchen table with his morning coffee and newspaper. He is of course the headline on the front page and suddenly a voice says, “Same guy, new underwear”. And then he blinks to the camera.

Most people know about Bendtner’s stunt at the European Championships in 2012, where he after scoring a goal lifted up his football jersey, flashing a band on his boxers with the name on an Irish bookmaker.

The second commercial that ComeOn! did was to built on the “same guy, new underwear” quote. They made a special ComeOn! Bendtner boxer and then users of the site had a chance to win a pair of the limited Bendtner boxers. Both commercials aired just before the European Championship in 2021 #EURO2020.

This was a perfect way of connecting their brand to an ambassador who isn’t afraid of speaking his mind and to push people’s limits. And also, to seize a moment where there was massive focus on the world of football. The partnership gained great value for ComeOn!