Bank of America
Audio By Carbonatix
There have been a few surprises this World Cup: Cape Verde’s shocking draw against top-ranked Spain, Uruguay’s early losing streak that resulted in elimination, and a surprisingly effective spell cast by a witch doctor from Ghana.
But none of them have been as surprising as the Cup’s greatest fad: the collectible, limited-edition free bracelets from Bank of America. The chord bracelets have caused mass panic and unbelievably long, sometimes hours-long, lines at all 11 stadiums and their respective city’s Fan Fests, and now we have new exclusive charms to make the lines even longer.
“The enthusiasm for BofA Fan Bands has been incredible,” said David Tyrie, spokesperson for Bank of America, in a press release. “Our goal is to give fans a new way to connect with the tournament and celebrate the teams and host cities they love. It’s been exciting to see the creativity behind the designs, and these new knockout-stage beads build on that momentum as the competition heats up.”
Mike Brooks
According to the release, the organization handed out 700,000 of the total 2 million available bracelets by June 19. There are three more weeks of the World Cup, which leaves about 433,000 available per week.
The magnetic bracelet isn’t necessarily the pinnacle of style, but the customizable, city-specific charms are more than enough to pique consumers’ interest (and demand). The bank initially launched 140 charms, with each recipient eligible to pick their five favorites regardless of the city where they managed to score a bracelet. If you haven’t seen Dallas’ charms, we’ve got a bolo tie, the shape of the state, a goalie glove, a cowboy hat and a longhorn steer.
The bank-turned-jeweler also released new knockout round charms featuring custom colors for each host city. For the semifinal game in Dallas, our colors are blue, green and white. You can check it out here.
The bracelets have fostered a culture of trade, with visitors swapping their charms as they travel through the country. Non-customizable versions with pre-made matchup-specific designs are also available, and the lines are reportedly shorter for those.
If you want to get your hands on the accessory of the summer, customization booths are set up at the Dallas Stadium (AT&T stadium, for native North Texans) on match day, closing just before kick-off, and occasionally reopening after the match ends. There’s also a booth at FIFA Fan Fest in Fair Park. Due to high demand, a time-slot system has been adopted where visitors can receive a colored wristband indicating a one-hour time slot during which they can go get a bracelet. All time slots are typically reserved within the first two hours of Fan Fest’s daily operations. Break a leg.
