Rock Face targets die hard England fans with overnight World Cup stunt 

Men’s deodorant brand Rock Face turned England’s World Cup last-16 victory over Mexico into a real-time campaign, handing out free cans of its 48-hour antiperspirant deodorant to fans heading straight from the pub to work on Monday morning.

The moment was created by the Government’s emergency decision to extend pub licensing hours until 5am, allowing supporters to watch the match through to the final whistle rather than being turned out at closing time. For many fans, that meant choosing between sleep and seeing the game through. The scale of that choice was reflected nationally. An estimated 500,000 people were expected to call in sick the following day, with millions more thought to have booked annual leave. Central London footfall told a similar story, dropping 15% between 6am and 10am as many supporters chose recovery over the commute.

Rock Face focused on those who made the opposite choice: fans who swapped sleep for football and had no time to go home, shower or change before starting work. As they left the pubs after the final whistle, the brand handed out free cans of its best-selling 48-hour antiperspirant, giving them a way to face the day feeling fresh.

James Wilkinson, CEO of Rock Face, said: ‘Rock Face is all about being a rock for men whenever they need us. When the 1am kick-off was confirmed and then delayed by another hour, we knew there would be thousands of supporters heading straight into work with little or no sleep. We wanted to help them start the day feeling fresh and give them the confidence to face whatever came next.’

The night is captured in a short film, ‘The Smell of Victory’, which follows fans from the final whistle through to the Monday morning after. It is part of a wider strategy for Rock Face, building content around real, genuine moments of emotion and representing a view of men that other men’s brands tend to avoid, celebrating the camaraderie and resilience of England fans who put football first.

The film will run across Rock Face’s social channels, alongside continued momentum for the brand across retail, digital and TikTok Shop, with further live shopping initiatives planned for later this year. It also comes as Rock Face continues to build momentum with retail sales rising by 23.6% across all LFL retailers in Q2. 

Source: Rock Face

  England, Marketing, Rock Face, World Cup