Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 12 June 2018

Analog charm of World Cup sticker book endures among fans

By MAURICIO SAVARESE of its paper product gains
SAO PAULO (AP) — Eighth- steam, like Pokemon and
grade teacher Ari Mascar- other titles that have prov-
enhas could have picked en popular in multiple for-
high-tech gadgets or mod- mats. Panini's sticker book
ern apps to help his stu- app was downloaded
dents learn Portuguese, but more than 1.5 million times,
he instead went old school introducing new ways to
with the World Cup sticker get stickers for users, includ-
book. ing product placements.
He's been a fan since 1986 Warsop said he thinks it will
— when he was 8 — and pick up during future World
the attraction for the col- Cups.
lectibles has trickled down "The nice thing about the
generations and endured digital is that you can also
for adults who still trade the swap and trade wherever
stickers in Brazil, the United you are, he said. "We want
States and other countries. people to trade even if
Mascarenhas said his soc- they are not in the same
cer-loving students devel- place."
op critical language skills Widespread use might be a
by studying every part of ways off for adults who are
the 80-page book filled currently introducing the
with team rosters, country hobby to kids.
flags and historical info. "I can't sell my stickers there
They read stats, names and (on the app). People want
other information while as- In this May 26, 2018 file photo, collectors exchange World Cup stickers for their albums at a trading paper," said salesman Re-
sociating it with colors, il- event outside the Pacaembu stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. nato Chaves, who took a
lustrations and other visual Associated Press van with more than 4,000
cues. stickers to sell outside Brazil's
"With the sticker book they books put on the market ies and the stickers them- without trades, because training camp in Teresopo-
see that language goes quickly sold. selves are sold in packs of of the rarity of some of the lis, outside Rio de Janeiro.
beyond verbal. I loved the Panini, the Italian collect- six. stickers, though Panini CEO Georgia Bulgackov, a
way they interacted swap- ibles company that pub- The days leading up to the Mark Warsop said there's 13-year-old student learn-
ping stickers, so I thought lishes the books, declined tournament have become no difference in the fre- ing from the sticker book in
this year I could use an to say how profitable the crunch time for collectors. quency of stickers. Sao Paulo, said it's amazing
analog cue in this digital World Cup books are, but Actress Bruna Marquezine, Mathematics professor Se- to learn from a toy.
world," said Mascarenhas, the company itself had rev- the girlfriend of Brazil su- bastião de Amorim of the "What we love is to mix
a teacher at German-Bra- enue of 631 million euros perstar Neymar, noticed Universidade de Campinas learning with something
zilian Colegio Humboldt in ($743 million U.S. dollars) in high demand of stickers said some stickers being from our daily life, that
Sao Paulo. 2016, with products sold in depicting the superstar. So hard to find is part of what made me understand
The book's popularity has more than 120 countries. she decided to swap stick- makes collecting them en- more what the teacher
spread as the World Cup Brazil is the largest market ers autographed by her ticing. Some are even sold wanted," she said.
nears its opening in Russia for the sticker books, fol- boyfriend for those she still at inflated prices. Mascarenhas, her teacher,
on June 14, despite sticker lowed by the United States needs. "The minimum figure to said he hopes his pupils
prices nearly doubling in with its sizable Latino popu- "I know this is cheating a complete the album is of can stretch their interac-
some countries, includ- lation and England. little, but I will not have my 137 packages, but the tion with the sticker book to
ing Brazil. That led to some The allure for the books is sticker book incomplete this odds of getting that, espe- other parts of their lives.
grumbling in the South similar to baseball or Poke- time," Marquezine joked on cially because some stick- "There are not many prod-
American nation, which mon cards — challenging social media as she lured ers are harder to find, are ucts that bring people to-
has been in a financial crisis fans to complete the set. swappers. the same of winning the gether. In such a divisive
for the past three years with Each book has spots for 681 Experts say fans would lottery," De Amorim said. world we can still swap,
widespread poverty. Still, stickers depicting things like need to buy about 970 Panini is also hoping that trade and have something
most of the 7 million sticker stadiums, players, host cit- packs to fill their books a digital, mobile version in common," he said.q