Specsavers’ ‘public service’ for football fans during the Euros

Specsavers did “a public service” in its latest campaign by translating the brand’s strapline into the languages of all the competing nations in the Euro 2024 tournament.

Polly Evelegh, lead creative strategist at Specsavers, described the work as “a no-brainer” for the brand to align its activity to the Euros.

“When referees make dodgy decisions, English football fans are known to use Specsavers’ famous strapline, ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’, to vent their frustration — whether shouting it on the pitch, at the TV or hammering away on socials,” she explained.

“We think it’s only fair that, during the Euros, everyone should be able to use it, not just England fans, when it looks like the refs have made the wrong decision.”

The activity aimed to be “accessible to all” and was described by Evelegh as “a public service”.

MG OMD handled the “Should’ve Translations” campaign, which kicked off on 13 June with full-page national newspaper ads, the day before the start of the competition. They ran in The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, the Daily Mail, Reach titles, The Sun and Metro.

The execution showed the flags of all 24 nations taking part in the Euros, with “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” translated into the main language of each country.

Alongside this, outdoor activity on Ocean Outdoor and Open Media sites went live ahead of Scotland’s first game against Germany on 14 June and England’s first game against Serbia on 16 June, with the flags of the teams playing on those days featuring side by side with the translations.

OOH was chosen for its regional buying capabilities, where the message could be “distinctive” and “create impact” in the relevant time period around Scotland and England’s first matches.

Meanwhile, print ads appeared in sports pages that were talking about the competition.

Evelegh added: “Specsavers likes to turn up in unexpected ways for maximum humour. We like to be choiceful about exactly when and what we do to use our famous strapline and ‘Should’ve Translations’ for the Euros lets us do exactly that.”

Specsavers will measure talkability and reach of the campaign to gauge its success.