Forward Sports — 3.4 Billion Eyes
The World Cup ball was made in Pakistan
/ Overview
For the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the official match ball — watched by 3.4 billion people — was manufactured in Sialkot by Forward Sports, with financing from HabibMetro Bank. Almost no one in the country knew. We turned that hidden fact into national pride: '3.4 Billion Eyes on a Proud Pakistan' celebrated craftsmanship from Sialkot to the world's biggest stage — and the bank that believed in it.
Get a free audit/ Project Details
Client: HABIBMETRO Bank × Forward Sports
Industry: Corporate / Banking & Manufacturing
Scope: Corporate campaign — film, key visual, PR & digital
Year: 2018
Link: All case studies
/ The challenge
For the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the official match ball — watched by 3.4 billion people — was manufactured in Sialkot by Forward Sports, with financing from HabibMetro Bank. We turned that hidden fact into national pride: '3.4 Billion Eyes on a Proud Pakistan' celebrated craftsmanship from Sialkot to the world's biggest stage — and the bank that believed in it.
/ What stood in the way
A hidden national win
A world-class achievement nobody had claimed or celebrated.
Financing isn't sexy
Connect a corporate banking product to an emotional national story.
One image, infinite channels
A key visual strong enough to carry print, digital and PR.
/ The solution
One connected system — insight, creative, media and measurement. 3.4B World Cup audience referenced · 1 Iconic key visual · Nationwide Press & PR coverage
/ What we delivered
The eye and the ball
An iconic key visual — the world literally watching through a Pakistani-made ball.
Craft-to-glory narrative
From Sialkot stitching lines to the World Cup final — told in film and print.
Earned-first rollout
PR and social amplification doing the heavy lifting.
