Chevrolet surprised everyone by partnering with the club to have each first team player walk onto the pitch wearing a shirt with the name of their mascot on the back. A young Latina, Jasmine, served as the first mascot for the match. You can read about her inspirational story here. Manchester United first team players wear name of their mascot on back of their shirt upon entering pitch, then just before the start of the match, the players presented the shirts as gifts to them.
“We brought 11 children from around the world to Manchester to let them experience first-hand how the power of play can create hope, optimism and possibilities not just inside Old Trafford, but back in their communities as well,” said Tim Mahoney, chief marketing officer, Global Chevrolet. “Chevrolet’s partnership with Manchester United is about using the passion for this sport to make a positive impact around the world and inspire football fans everywhere.”
The opportunity to be a mascot is part of Chevrolet’s “What Do You #PlayFor?” campaign to bring football fans closer to the sport and spread the power of play around the world. Each child’s story is featured at www.ChevroletFC.com.
“It was a pleasure to welcome all 11 mascots to Old Trafford and our players were proud to walk out onto the pitch with them today,” Manchester United Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold said. “In the two years since announcing its partnership with Manchester United, Chevrolet has embraced the club’s desire to connect with its 659 million global followers, coming up with new and exciting ways to do this. Today’s activity demonstrates their ingenuity at doing this and we helped capture the imagination of our fans around the world.”
Since first announcing its partnership with Manchester United in 2012, Chevrolet has used football to spread the power of play worldwide, including donating close to 1 million nearly indestructible balls from the One World Futbol Project for use by more than 26 million youth in 60-plus countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Chevrolet also recently revitalized a pitch in Bandung, Indonesia, on behalf of a local organization that uses soccer to increase the quality of life for people living with HIV and drug addiction, and Chevrolet donated a pop‑up pitch and pickup truck and trailer to help transform gang-laden streets in Chicago into a place where children can play and learn life skills.
SOCIAL MEDIA
To celebrate its new, seven-year Manchester United shirt sponsorship, Chevrolet is inviting fans around the world to upload photos of themselves wearing a digital version of the new shirt at www.ChevroletFC.com. Chevrolet also recently released a video on www.ChevroletFC.com featuring Manchester United players, legends and fans paying homage to the history of the club’s shirts that has attracted more than 10 million views.