Getafe sows seeds for future fans

Faced with dwindling gates, Madrid La Liga club Getafe has come up with a novel approach to entice the fans back: the club's management has produced an ad featuring a zombie porn film.

The spot, with a retro-1970s feel about it, will be shown at sperm donation clinics in order to create the fan base that will hopefully fill the side's Coliseum Alfonso Pérez stadium for decades to come. La Liga's Getafe has struggled in recent years to fill its 17,700-seater stadium, with one of the lowest attendance records in the division.

"There are so few of us, and we need more fans. We have to get our fans to seed the world with Getafe supporters," says Getafe's colorful president, Ángel Torres, who came up with the idea, adding: "In the film, we wanted to address a serious issue as well, because we all come to the stadium when we can, and it's true that there are many season ticket holders, but it's never full."

The advertisement, which has appeared on Spanish national television, tells the story of a Getafe sperm donor who is given the porn film when he gets to a clinic.

The plot is no Citizen Kane: a mysterious projectile falls into the water tank at a bar frequented by Getafe fans, transforming the women into "sex zombies." "I don't think there is much of a scientific basis to the story, but I think people will like it," says Torres.

"The solution is simple. It's within you. We're talking about donating sperm. The more donors, the better," the voice-over says.

"To make sure we get the best supporters, we have made the first Getafe porn movie," it adds.

The footage at first cuts to half-naked zombies rolling around on beds moaning in pleasure at the importance of getting Getafe back on track, and then returns to the donor marching down a clinic corridor with fellow fans and then into an individual cubicle to complete his mission.

Club marketing director José Antonio Cuétara says the film has already received a "largely positive" response and that season ticket sales had soared to 9,000 since its broadcast.

"Getafe has always been prepared to take risks when it comes to advertising campaigns, and we have always done what we wanted," says Lucas Paulino, who also worked on the film.

"The challenge was to create something well-produced, and tasteful, in its way," says Assaf Eldar, the film's producer. "This isn't the typical disposable porn product," he adds. "The idea is to create an identity for Getafe, we want a fan base that sees us as their main side," he says, referring to the domination of soccer in the capital by Real Madrid and Atlético.

It is not the first time Getafe has resorted to viral marketing in a bid to boost its fan base. In 2009, Burger King's new sponsorship deal with the side saw the chain's logo splashed on the front of their shirts and a picture of the 'Burger King' on the inside, too.

Many clubs in La Liga produce publicity spots to boost sales, most featuring famous players. Deportivo has followed Getafe's left field approach with its own campaign, showing fans praying to the saint of its 2000-title winning side. Previous Getafe campaigns have included a spoof of Steven Spielberg's seminal alien movie E. T., a suicidal, piano-playing Koala, and a subsequently banned effort that showed Jesus and other Biblical figures giving up their lives for the team.

Getafe's stadium is the third largest in the Spanish capital. Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu holds 80,000, and rival Atlético's Vicente Calderón has room for 55,000.