CLUB DEPORTIVO MUNICIPAL | THE THOUSAND SPONSORS OF MUNI | 2026
A Thousand Sponsors Saved One Club / CLUB DEPORTIVO MUNICIPAL "THE THOUSAND SPONSORS OF MUNI"
Put 1,000 companies' logos on a jersey. It sounds like a joke, but it actually saved a club.
The problem
Club Deportivo Municipal is a storied club in Peru. It once won the league four times, but after a string of relegations, sponsors drifted away, and the club found itself in the third division, struggling financially. "We need sponsors, but we don't know how to find them." That was the request the club brought to an agency.
The insight
Digging into it, they found that many of Muni's fans were local small business owners—greengrocers, craftspeople, and the like. None of them could afford to be a single big sponsor, but each had the will to support the club and a little money to spare. So why not gather 1,000 small contributions instead?
The idea
They redesigned the jersey as a black-and-white grid, turning it into countless tiny squares, each one an ad space. The club's signature red diagonal stripe stayed in place, and businesses could sponsor a square starting at 100 soles (about $27). Shops that became sponsors also became official merchandise outlets, and the shirt the players wore turned into a directory of the whole community.
What happened
The campaign launched in January 2026, and within three months most of the squares were sold, raising about 1 million soles. It won the Grand Prix for Entertainment Lions for Sport at Cannes Lions 2026.
Afterthought
Not a jersey with one big company's logo, but a jersey lined with the names of 1,000 small shops. Just by looking at it, you can tell exactly who's holding this club up. It feels like a moment where advertising reshaped the whole business model itself.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2026
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