Booking.com Shows Its Love for the Game in UEFA Women's Euro 2022 Ad

Booking.com kicked off a multiyear partnership with UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) with a two-minute ad promoting the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022. 

“It Starts With A Booking” is told from the eyes of a young soccer player. Improvement of their skills comes with a cost—bruises, knock downs and lots of late night practices. A visit to mom at work morphs into an impromptu practice session. Elevated footwork skills lead to a pivotal in-game moment. It’s just the player with the ball and the goalie. They shoot and they do not score. Disappointment abounds. The next day, mom books a trip to the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, where the young player locks eyes with her favorite athlete—England’s Millie Bright. It’s also the first time we see that the young, talented soccer player is a girl.

“So many young kids have passions, but unless they see the merit in pursuing these passions through role models, their dreams can often dwindle,” says Selma Ahmed, creative director at adam&eveDDB, the agency behind the campaign. “So for us, it was important to show the power of representation on a world stage. In this case, the incredible athletes competing in the Euros, who have become role models for millions of young girls dreaming of becoming professional footballers.”

The ad was directed by Natalie Rae and features soccer player Linda Dallman in the German version. The campaign runs through the end of the month in the U.K. and Germany via TV, OOH, print elements. 

CREDITS

Client: Booking.com
Chief Marketing Officer: Arjan Dijk
Director of Brand and Production: Carine van der Heijden
Head of Brand Creative: Diana Marcela Agudelo Hernandez
Brand Creative Manager: Ali Ronca
Head Of Brand Production: Nadia Pack
Brand Producer: Nicole Olwagen
Senior Sponsorship Manager: Sam Cussins
Senior Project Manager: Jamie Jeffers
Senior Designer, Motion: Giuliana Latte

Agency: adam&eveDDB
Creative Director: Genevieve Gransden 
Creative Director: Selma Ahmed
Head of Strategy: Will Grundy
Business Director: Jo Lorimer
Account Manager: Jono Shaw

Production Company: Object & Animal 
Director: Natalie Rae 
EP: Dom Thomas / Laura Hegarty 
Producer: Lucy Sherwood  
Production Manager: Andrea Harvey 
DOP: Eira Wyn Jones 
1st AD: Ben Glickman 
1st AD: Spyridoula Bagiorgou
Director Assist and 2nd Unit: Anna Hopkins
Camera Op London: John Ellis Evans
Location Manager : Petros Chitris / Maria Thomopoulou
Focus Puller: Giorgos Maniatis
Steadicam: Michalis Tsimnropoulos
Gaffer: Michalis Christoforatos
Line Producer: Kostas Tagalakis
Art Director: Katerina Kyrozi
Stylist: Dafni Iliaki
Make up: Mina Komini
Hair Stylist: Irini Chatzoglou
Casting director: Cameron Lock

Offline: The Assembly Rooms
Editor: Eve Ashwell 
Edit producer: Daniel Breheny
Edit assistants: André Rodrigues, Bruna Manfredi

Post-Production: Absolute Post
VFX Supervisor & Lead Nuke Artist: Harvey David
Lead VFX & Flame Artist: Antonio Jimenez
VFX Artists: Carl Godwin-Alvarez, Tommy Coulter-Liston, Rahul Karavadra, Toby O’Connell
VFX Creative Director: Phil Oldham
Head of CG: Rebekah King-Britton
CG Artists: Patrick Keogh, Keith Rogers, Heidi Prescott
Motion Graphics: Blind Pig
Motion Graphics Artist: William Smith
Senior Producer: Rosanne Crisp
Producer: Mary Musasa
Production Assistant: Yasmin Tilly
Executive Producer: Jenna Le Noury

Color: Time Based Arts
Colourist: Simone Grattarola 

Sound: Wave Studios Amsterdam
Sound Designer: Archie Presley
Producer: Michael Hoogdorp

Music Supervisor: Beth Urdang @ Selfsame Industries