Football’s Festive Featurettes: Ferocious Wolves and cuddly bears

The quintessential Christmas advertisement has become as much a part of the festive ritual as a tree decorated in lights or a wreath hanging on the front door.

Each year without fail, the British public wait with baited breath for the John Lewis commercial to make its debut and more recently, football and other sporting clubs have hopped on the bandwagon, producing their own festive featurettes.

Insider Sport is looking back at past Christmas campaigns produced by football clubs to market the clubs’ merchandise stores in the run up to the big day.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ ‘Give the Gift of Gold’ advertisement from 2018 follows the journey of a certain stuffed teddy bear.

The plush toy is first picked out by a young supporter who takes a trip to the Wolves megastore. Despite the array of merchandise on show, including a miniature Lego model of Molineux, Wolves slippers and a Wolves calendar, she instantly falls in love with a teddy bear that has the club crest embossed on its chest.

Her dad purchases the bear as a gift and the two become inseparable from thereon out. She takes her furry companion to school, concealing him in her locker during the day, attempts to feed him, cuddles up in bed with him but most importantly, he even has his own seat at Molineux, accompanying the avid Wolves supporters to every Premier League fixture.

Unfortunately, her dad misplaces the soft toy at Molineux, after a game one Saturday afternoon, leaving the unnamed bear behind, much to his daughter’s dismay.

Luckily, he’s retrieved from the stands by a member of staff and is passed from player to player. At one point, he even ends up in the hands of none other than Midlands-born Led Zeppelin lead, Robert Plant, in an unusual twist of events!

The girl’s dad puts out a social media appeal for information on the whereabouts of the sought-after soft toy which eventually reaches the club.

One evening, there’s a knock at the door and there stands Rúben Neves with his Wolves teammates in tow (in Wolves-themed Christmas jumpers, of course) and the bear. It’s unclear who the young fan is more pleased to see – her missing bear a handful of the Premier League squad – but the toy is reunited with its rightful owner at last, making her Christmas Eve.

The heartwarming video campaign speaks volumes of the generosity of the family-friendly Wolverhampton Wanderers fanbase, encapsulating the essence of the Christmas spirit and childhood innocence that the festive period is all about.

The campaign is simple, yet effective. The joy that the young fan displays at the end when her bear is returned resonates with viewers. Not to mention you get your money’s worth if you buy from the Wolves club shop!

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