The campaign has been developed by Saatchi & Saatchi in Germany. The multi-million dollar advertising campaign comprises TV, cinema, print, outdoor and online. The endeavour sought to tap into the fans' passion for football as well as reinforcing the nature of Emirates as a global airline through clever and original visuals.

The television ads can be seen across the globe on CNN, BBC World, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Euronews and Eurosport, among others, and will run from now until the end of March. The print campaign which runs in conjunction with the TV ads will be seen in target publications around the world including 'The Sunday Times', 'The Daily Telegraph', 'The Sydney Morning Herald' and other major international newspapers.

The advertisements, which are set in four different destinations which Emirates flies to and were rolled out through Emirates' impressive global network of agencies, represent key regions including Dubai, South Africa, Hong Kong and Italy. In each case the story revolves around travellers discovering they have one thing in common which unites them with the locals in each destination - a love of football.

Emirates claims that fans in online polls across Europe have responded well. Readers of Italy's W&V - a marketing, advertising and media publication and Germany's TV Spielfilm which provides dope on TV programmes have both voted the advertisement as among their favourites on air.

The ads are themed around the image of a person running with his arms outstretched, mimicking an aircraft, which cleverly combines the culture of football with the awareness of Emirates Airline. The company's corporate communications department is working closely with more than 100 PR and advertising agencies around our network to optimise the investment made in the sponsorship of the World Cup.

Emirates' sponsorship of the 2006 Fifa World Cup is a major part of the airline's ongoing marketing focus of using sports sponsorship as a way to reach to its passengers and to connect directly with them. The aim is to get the message across that Emirates is a truly global brand.

Emirates' chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said, "For Emirates, sponsorship is an important means of reaching out to our passengers worldwide, through sharing and supporting their interests. Our massive investment in football underscores our confidence in the continued international growth of Emirates, and in the growth of Dubai as a regional hub for business, tourism and sports."