Cristiano Ronaldo built an empire around his value as a football player and his image, which is now associated with the most exclusive brands in the world, such as Bugatti, which counts the Portuguese star among its most high-profile clients, functioning as a kind of ambassador. Obviously, it wasn’t always like this. In 2005, when he was really starting to make a name for himself at Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, the Portuguese player was chosen as the face of the advertising campaign… for the Suzuki Swift, a small utility vehicle that refreshed the brand’s lineup.
The campaign’s development and production were handled by the Dutch subsidiary of the brand, which chose Ronaldo considering the player’s notoriety, but also because his image suited the younger target audience that the car company aimed to reach.
