An ad by Young and Rubicam brings to the fore the passion and love Argentines feel for the beautiful game. As the World Cup approaches Argentinians comes together as one. It is out of this world. People in other parts of the world look on in awe and reverence. When they lose they suffer, do not go the cinema or theater. They do nothing. The fans and the players.
The interesting thing is that the ad is made for TyC Sports, a sports channel which virtually monopolizes TV coverage of Argentinian football. TyC Sports is jointly owned by TyC and Clarin, Argentina’s biggest media company which has had a long and troubled relationship with the Christine Kirchner government.
The Kirchners have been trying to break up these broadcasting giants in favour of smaller community based media organizations which are more likely to be progressive. Recently, TyC took the Argentinian Football Federation (AFA) to court over breach of contract as they were replaced by Channel 7, owned by the government to broadcast the Primera Liga games. So the reality is a fractured Argentinian political and media establishment.