SCORING WITH THE WORLD CUP

Intensity of month-long soccer fiesta leads to huge hit for Roots

As World Cup mania reaches its peak this weekend with the title match between Italy and France, Roots has already emerged a clear winner vis-à-vis the international soccer tournament. Sunday’s game may be the culmination of the month-long sporting extravaganza, but it’s also an opportunity to take stock of the huge success of the Roots United collection which greatly surpassed sales expectations since its launch in late May.
Thanks to the intense interest in Canada, especially in cities with large immigrant communities whose respective home countries were competing in the World Cup, the Roots United racked up staggering numbers. According to the latest sales figures, the Roots Italy shirt proved the most popular, followed by Portugal, England, the Netherlands and Germany.
Roots staff were anything but immune from World Cup fever. At both the head office in Toronto and in many stores across Canada, games were shown on TV monitors often capturing the attention of employees.
Senior Art Director Ilich Mejia traveled to Germany to get closer to the action. Dressed in a Roots United shirt, Ilich attended the England - Ecuador match in Stuttgart along with Matthew Budman and 50,000 other spectators.
The trip proved highly memorable for Ilich, who kicks a mean soccer ball himself. "Having worked on the World Cup ad campaign for the Roots United collection, the trip was extremely exciting and rewarding," says Ilich. "It was cool to see so many people come together for the love of sport. We met people from many parts of the world -- Argentina, Ecuador, England, Mexico, Australia and of course Germany. The whole World Cup experience was great. It's kind of sad that it all ends on Sunday."
Closer to home, in a related Roots World Cup event earlier this week in Toronto, Roots took part in a fundraiser for the Right To Play charity. It was held at the Brassaii restaurant where the many guests watched the semi-final match between France and Portugal. During the event, two soccer balls signed by Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo and the entire Juventus Team were auctioned to raise funds for Right To Play for which Roots also donated various prizes.