There are certain qualities that turn a song into a football anthem. First, the sense of euphoria to match the game's twists, turns and rollercoaster of emotions. Second, the song's ability to get everyone on their feet. So it makes sense that “Sacúdete” became Major League Soccer's (MLS) choice to soundtrack its latest Our Soccer Is Calling campaign.
The hypnotic electronics The track by Afro-Indigenous-Venezuelan producer and songwriter Gotopo alongside producer Don Elektron (of Mexican group Kinky) was an unlikely choice given that the song was released last year and Gotopo is a relatively young artist. However, it was the song that caught the attention of MLS.
“We fell in love with the energy of the song,” he says Jesse Pearl, MLS VP of Marketing, who worked with indie label Waxploitation Records to license the track for the campaign. “We think it's great to use our platform to work with not only an established superstar producer like Don Elektron, but also up-and-coming artists like Gotopo. This year, we wanted to make sure that our commitment to Latino culture came to life through sound, it's something we really wanted to be intentional about.”
It's not the first time MLS has worked with Latino campaigns, Prince Royce and Miguel have been supported in previous years, but this latest song and campaign captures his zeal football movement and excitement with the arrival of the icon of Argentine football Lionel Messi in the championship.
“Something really interesting is starting to happen, like it did with hip-hop and the NBA in the '90s,” explains Perl. “There is this marriage of Latin music and football in such an organic way. Peso Pluma comes in games with Dr. Dre. Bizarrap then goes to races in Miami. There are all these people who are fans of the sport and now of our league.”
It's also a direct reflection of the league's fans. According to data provided by MLS, the league has the youngest and most diverse fans among the major sports leagues in North America, with 30% of MLS fans being Hispanic and 69% of the league's fans being Gen-Z and millennials.
“Football calls to us is this idea that it's an invitation to bring people who are curious to discover and we're fortunate that there's more curiosity about our league than ever before.”
Watch the 'Our Soccer is Calling' spot, soundtracked by 'Sacúdete', below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/gotopo-don-elektron-sacudete-mls-soccer-anthem-campaign-1235615139/
