'Greatness Never Rests' Activatives Audi Australia's AFC Hawthorne Sponsorship

In Australia Audi has activated its AFL Hawthorne Football Club sponsorship with the launch an integrated campaign called ‘Greatness Never Rests’.

Developed in harness with agency 303 MullenLowe (with post production from Fin and FX/music by Rumble Studios), Audi’s inaugural AFL marketing for the Hawks is spearheaded by a TV spot called ‘The Impossible Goal’ which features players kicking goals high over the streets of the club’s hometown Melbourne.

Fronted by Audi athlete endorsers and the vice captain of the Hawks side Jordan Lewis, the commercial also stars fellow players Luke Breust and Isaac Smith.

All the stars are challenged to pull off audacious kicks from city centre rooftop to rooftop using bespoke created LED footballs which offer a trackable light path the night sky.

The spot comes in a 45-second online version,

as well as a 30-second television ad.

Audi also reached out to some Hawks fans by inviting supporters to be a part of the ad shoot and watch the action from Melbourne’s Little Bourke Street. The aim of this was to maximise fan engagement and create a supporter style atmosphere for the shoot – with a tone of suspense, excitement, enthusiasm and determination.

The film, which was helmed by Noah Marshall (of The Sweet Shop), also features the new Audi R8 – which will be released in Australia this summer.

The TV work breaks nationwide from 6 May, while the online version of the film was posted on YouTube earlier on 21 April and across the social channels of both Audi Australia and the Hawthorn Football Club.

All versions carry the tagline: ‘The greatest goals are the ones we set ourselves’.

The campaign is being supported by a behind-the-scenes online video and will be backed up with a further series of digital spots in which Hawthorn stars take on the R8.

‘At Audi, setting goals is what drives us and pushes us to greater success, The Impossible Goal was designed to give the Hawks an unique test, in the same way that Audi tests itself every time we create a new vehicle – it is what we refer to as Vorsprung durch Technik,’ explains Audi Australia general manager marketing Kevin Goult.

‘We are incredibly proud of this new campaign and what it represents for the brand here in Australia. The idea behind ‘Greatness Never Rests’ lends itself as a powerful insight because it’s at the heart of what drives both Audi and the Hawks to achieving ongoing success year after year,’ added 303 MullenLowe executive creative director Richard Morgan at the campaign launch.

‘What we were looking for is how we can really push the boundaries of what we want to do. We know that these guys can kick a ball and they can kick a great distance but let’s take them out of their comfortable environment and put them in something which is completely alien. I think it’s safe to say that these guys have never kicked a ball from the top of a building in Melbourne to the roof of another building,’ added Morgan.

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Audi signed on as the Hawks principal partner earlier in 2016 and this work is the first ATL creative in Audi’s recent sponsorship of the three times reigning AFL Premier champion Hawthorn Football Club (HFC).

It follows 7 April’s Audi/Hawthorne FC track day which saw the AFL team get acquainted with the R8 prior to the commercial shoot.

Part of Audi’s strategy behind the relationship is to match up its premium positioning with the Hawk’s unrivalled success.

‘The brand Hawthorn and Audi have a lot of parallels. The Hawks have had great success, as our brand has over the years, and they are a brand which matches our progressiveness, our sportiness and our sophistication – the three main things of the Audi brand. The Hawks have this relentless spirit to continue to improve and challenge themselves, to get better and better. That’s very much what the Audi brand stands for.’ explains Audi managing director Andrew Doyle.

‘Not only is it the first time we have aligned ourselves with a leading national sporting club in Australia, we are the only premium automotive brand in AFL. Hawthorn’s credentials and club philosophy were a major factor in our decision to sponsor the Club,’ adds Doyle (who confesses to being a fan of rival Richmond Tigers).

‘Audi has a comprehensive sponsorship portfolio in Australia and as a partner, our goal is to be as active, engaged and visible as possible, creating a genuine culture of collaboration with the Hawthorn management and players. The partnership affords us with strong visibility nationally and in the Hawks we have found a highly professional partner that is as keen to achieve greatness as we are as a brand.’

Links:

Audi Australia YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/AudiAustralia

Audi Australia Website:

http://www.audi.com.au/

Audi Australia Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AudiAustralia

Audi Australia Google+:

https://plus.google.com/u/1/+AudiAustralia/posts

Audi Australia Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/AudiAustralia/

Hawthorne Football Club: