English football isn’t always known for its family friendliness but the West Ham United Football Club (known as the Hammers) in East London took a step in that direction Saturday by adding another mascot to sports pantheon of cute and fuzzy mascots.

The Hammers' new mascot, Hammerhead (at right), isn’t a shark but, yes, it is a hammer. A dancing, showboating hammer. Hammerhead had something to strut about Saturday as his team topped Barnsley F.C. Tykes 1-0. (And it’s not really nice to pick on tykes, is it?)

The team’s fans, though, weren’t sure what to make of Hammerhead, according to Metro.co.uk. On one fan forum, the site notes, one commenter stated, “Rarely have I been so embarrassed at Upton Park” while another wrote, “I personally thought it was much more entertaining than the game.”Continue reading...

World Cup marketing means ambush marketing, whereby (adjusts monocle) "one brand pays to become an official sponsor of an event (most often athletic) and another competing brand attempts to cleverly connect itself with the event, without paying the sponsorship fee and, more frustratingly, without breaking any laws."

While many brands have paid good money to be official FIFA 2010 partners and sponsors, many more have not. That, of course, isn't stopping them from releasing campaigns that cleverly connect their brands to the world's most popular event.

Brandchannel took a look at ten ambush marketing campaigns and graded them (from 1-10) based on overall brand positioning and "World Cup-ocity." (Click here for our scorecard of official 2010 World Cup sponsors' campaigns.)

Brand: Nationwide
Campaign: Nationwide highlights its sponsorship of England's World Cup team by recruiting some colorful characters from the hit TV series Little Britain to put a little laugh next to the brand. Funny, yes, but where's the brand message?
World Cup-ocity Grade: 7 (Actually mentions "World Cup")
Branding Grade: 2Continue reading...