Koutoubia or Cristiano Ronaldo: which one was the star of the Spanish Super Cup?

Real Madrid have thrashed their rivals Barcelona on Monday in the Spanish Super Cup by winning the first round in the finale. 

Gerard Piqué led off by scoring a goal against his own team. Luckily, 27 minutes later, Lionel Messi managed to score the first goal against Real Madrid. But Barcelona shouldn’t rejoice yet, because it didn’t take Cristiano more than 2 minutes to score the second goal and be red carded for having lifted his shirt.

Perfect opportunity for the photographers to get that perfect shot. And perfect timing for the Moroccan company Koutoubia who was lucky enough to see its logo scrolling in the advertising boards along the sidelines of soccer pitches, reserved for sponsors, while Cristiano was showing off his abs.

The pictures taken of Cristiano had of course cycled the internet and spurred an ecstatic reaction from Moroccan cybernauts who recognized the logo. Having said so, some people didn’t seem too fazed by it, claiming it was just “virtual advertising”.

Now, for the ones of you of have been like living under a rock, or who have no interest whatsoever in soccer, I’m sure you’ve never heard of the term “virtual advertising”.

A quick Wikipedia search shows that “Virtual Advertising is the use of digital technology to insert virtual advertising images into a live or pre-recorded television show, often in Sports events.” This technology is basically used to allow broadcasters to replace real advertising panels, existing on the playfield, with virtual images on the screen when broadcasting the same event in other regions which are not concerned with the local advertising. This technology have revolutionized the sports and advertising worlds because it allows advertisers to  reach people in their home languages, tailoring messages to the different times of day or season, which results in brands always reaching their target audience.

Now, I’m sure that what you’re thinking now is : What a bummer!

But don't feel disappointed just yet. The reality of things is that even though sports virtual ads have been around for more than a decade, the technology is not supported by all sports events. And for our greatest happiness, Koutoubia’s logo was indeed scrolling in the real advertising boards, existing on the playfield.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s a screenshot of an image posted by Cristiano in his official Instagram account.

Seems convincing? not so much? Here’s footage of the actual goal shot from the playfield : 

Now, for the skeptics amongst you, whether you want to believe it or not is your choice ; But one thing is for sure : Koutoubia’s Halal products are bound to skyrocket.