Héroes de Hoy: Heroes Of Today
DDB Madrid was commissioned by a coalition of major Spanish brands, including LaLiga and Iberia, to address the growing issue of intolerance in sports. They sought to move beyond standard corporate social responsibility by taking a bold, collective stand against racism. The objective was to improve brand perception by engaging a broad audience through a unified social activism platform.
Creative Idea
Reimagined a 1936 Olympic journey as a thriller to confront modern-day racism.
The campaign transformed a historical 1936 Olympic walk into a chilling cinematic thriller to prove that the monsters of intolerance haven't vanished - they have simply changed clothes, challenging viewers to become active heroes against modern-day stadium racism.
Resurrecting Heroes to Confront Modern Monsters
A Coalition of Rival Giants
In a rare move for the Spanish market, six major corporations - including LaLiga, Iberia, and Correos - set aside competitive interests to fund a single, unified activism platform. This "storydoing" approach was designed by DDB España to move beyond passive messaging. The strategy proved effective, generating over 100 million impressions and achieving a 98% positive sentiment rate, an anomaly for campaigns tackling polarizing social issues like racism and LGTBIQ+ rights.
Recreating the 1936 Atmosphere
To achieve the cinematic tension of the first phase, production company Landia and the collective BRBR meticulously researched the 1936 Berlin Olympics. They worked with El Ranchito - the VFX powerhouse behind *Game of Thrones* - to ensure the weather and atmospheric conditions of the stadium scenes were historically accurate. While the story was inspired by the 18 Afro-American athletes who competed in Nazi Germany, the team intentionally chose a less-recognizable figure to represent the anonymous struggle of modern fans facing insults in stadiums today.
Deepfakes for Social Justice
For the second phase, the production shifted to cutting-edge technology to tell the story of Julio Zúñiga, a Mexican footballer murdered in a 2017 hate crime. The team utilized Deepfake technology and voice synthesis to "resurrect" Zúñiga, working in close coordination with his family to ensure the recreation was ethical. Executive Creative Director Daniel Rodríguez noted that the goal was to prove the "monsters" of the past have not disappeared; they have simply changed their clothes. The films have since been integrated into Spanish school curriculums to teach diversity and inclusion.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A coalition of major Spanish brands leveraging their collective influence to address systemic social issues.
Category
Category norms often favor safe, passive CSR messaging that avoids direct confrontation with controversial social realities.
Customer
People who are increasingly concerned about rising intolerance but feel that corporate statements are often hollow.
Culture
The rise of hate speech in modern stadiums created a need for a provocative, historical mirror.
Company
A coalition of major Spanish brands leveraging their collective influence to address systemic social issues.
Category
Category norms often favor safe, passive CSR messaging that avoids direct confrontation with controversial social realities.
Strategy:
Confront modern intolerance by using cinematic historical parallels to transform passive brand values into active social resistance.
Customer
People who are increasingly concerned about rising intolerance but feel that corporate statements are often hollow.
Culture
The rise of hate speech in modern stadiums created a need for a provocative, historical mirror.
Strategy:
Confront modern intolerance by using cinematic historical parallels to transform passive brand values into active social resistance.
Results
The campaign achieved massive viral impact, securing over 10 million views within its first few days of launch. It became a global trending topic on social media and received extensive international coverage from major outlets including ESPN and the BBC. The project was a 'clean sweep' at major festivals, winning 1 Gold Lion (Entertainment for Sport) and 2 Silver Lions (Film, Diversity & Inclusion) at Cannes, as well as the Gran Ojo Sports and 8 Gold awards at El Ojo de Iberoamérica. It also earned a Gold Effie Spain for Social Awareness/CSR, a Gold at El Sol, and a Bronze at the London International Awards (LIAA). Beyond metrics, it successfully shifted 'Corporate Social Responsibility' (CSR) perceptions for the coalition of brands, establishing a new industry benchmark for 'Storydoing' and multi-brand collaboration.
10M+
Views in first few days
11
Major Gold awards won
1st
Major use of Deepfake for social cause
Strategy Technique
Attack a Cultural Blind Spot
It calls out the comfortable delusion that racism is a relic of the past, forcing a confrontation with the ugly reality of contemporary sports culture.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Dramatize the Problem
By framing historical racism as a visceral, high-stakes thriller, the campaign makes the abstract concept of intolerance feel physically threatening and urgently relevant to modern audiences.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The film's power lies in its ability to make 1936 Berlin feel like a contemporary nightmare through immersive, high-tension filmmaking.
The claustrophobic, handheld camera work creates an unrelenting sense of dread that bridges the gap between past and present.
Meticulous historical recreation of Nazi-era Berlin provides a chillingly authentic backdrop that heightens the film's emotional stakes.
The oppressive soundscape of chanting and industrial noise amplifies the psychological pressure felt by the protagonist.
The visual contrast between the athlete and the hostile environment reinforces the theme of isolation against systemic hate.
The marriage of gritty cinematography and authentic production design creates a visceral realism that makes the historical metaphor undeniable.
