Castrol readies Ronaldo campaign

Castrol is to launch a global campaign featuring newly signed brand ambassador Cristiano Ronaldo in September as part of a World Cup-themed push in the run up to next year’s tournament.

The Real Madrid striker will star in a multimedia initiative to push the motor oil company’s Edge and Power1 brands.

Castrol will also use brand ambassadors Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager, and former England striker Alan Shearer to leverage its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa next year.

Wenger will feature in business-to-business marketing, Shearer will act as a brand ambassador for Castrol at UK events.

The former Newcastle United manager will be one of many football legends used around the world including former referee Pierluigi Collina in Italy and former Bayern Munich manager Ottmar Hitzfeld in Germany.

Des Johnson, global brand director of Castrol, says the firm will not be adding further global ambassadors but will continue to look for “local” brand advocates on a country-by-country basis.

To this end, Castrol has recently appointed Wasserman Media Group to build its ambassador programme.

The plans follow the recent appointment of former Anheuser-Busch UK marketing director Vicki Kipling as global marketing communications manager and Simon Meehan as sponsorship manager for Europe and Africa.