Adidas has launched its first salvo in the Rugby World Cup kit battle back in the summer when it began leveraging its partnership with New Zealand through a campaign called ‘Force Of Black’.
Several All Blacks union stars – including Dan Carter, Jerome Kaino and Ma’a Nonu – feature in the typically powerful Adidas ‘Force Of Black’ launch commercial that spearheads the initiative.
The minute-long spot aims to convey the immense power of nature and link this to the ‘Force Of Black’.
Thus it features images of animals including a cheetah, a tornado, and lightning strikes to represent the team’s strength, pace and power.
It explores how the kiwi players themselves feel that they have the ‘force of black’ inside them and how it makes them ‘more determined’ and ‘more focused’.
The ad runs with the supporting copyline: ‘Our fans. Our culture. Our history. Everything we stand for. The #ForceOfBlack is here.’
Since it was first posted on the Adidas Rugby site, as well as on Adidas New Zealand and the All Blacks YouTube channels in July it has racked up around 1.5 million views.
This flagship TV commercial film is further supported by a series of individual player-focused #ForceOfBlack online videos.
These were posted in the days immediately following the central commercial’s release on Adidas’ Rugby YouTube page and includes a 17 July spot led by legendary flanker and All Black captain Richie McCaw focusing on a ‘responsibility to perform’.
The #ForceOfBlack campaign was initially teased and is now being further amplified across the sports giant’s social media sites – from the sport-specific adidas rugby (https://twitter.com/adidasrugby),
The #ForceOfBlack – COMING MONDAY pic.twitter.com/UqvHP6Y7ns
— adidas Rugby (@adidasrugby) July 8, 2015
The fans, the culture, the history – it beats inside us. #ForceOfBlack pic.twitter.com/9Fjye8QTm2
— adidas Rugby (@adidasrugby) July 13, 2015
to the market-specific Adidas New Zealand (https://twitter.com/adidasnz).
Our fans. Our culture. Our history. Everything we stand for. The #ForceOfBlack is here. http://t.co/Rtx1b4Ah68
— adidas New Zealand (@adidasNZ) July 12, 2015
The executions drive viewers to the Adidas Rugby NZ website and its online All Blacks kit purchasing platforms.
The campaign also included a classic, PR-led jersey launch event – fronted by Richie McCaw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnf2-UZmm5Y
The RWC 2015 kit combined the latest technology with a homage to the iconic, first All Blacks team called ‘The Originals’ (which links to All Blacks sponsor Steinlager’s RWC campaigns – see case study).
Additional strands – from ads and at-game events, to experiences and stunts – continued in the weeks and months before the tournament.
One of these saw a groups All Blacks players (Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Aaron Smith and James Broadhurst) making coffee for Adidas customers in the Adidas store in Santon City on 24 Jul 24 before the headed off for the tournament.
After this pre-tournament phase, the All Blacks kit partner continued to leverage its New Zealand Rugby Union partnership throughout the competition with a set of varied activation strands.
These elements ranged from an All Blacks London arrival day-long event that saw rugby fans challenged to take on the #ForceOfBlack,
and further #ForceOfBlack ‘The Full 80 – The Men Behind The Jersey’ films – such as this Dab Carter video,
and this Sonny Bill Williams episode.
plus creative Instagram mosaics and, of course, the black boots worn by the entire New Zealand squad, as well as a pre-Final ‘The Making Of Black’
and a post-tournament victory ‘The Jersey’ short shirt design video,
and a fan ‘hat cam’ final selfie film.
Another related RWC Adidas activation was non-team specific, product and player gaming promotion called the ‘XV Challenge’ – a rugby rugby card game which enabled the sportswear brand to feature more of its rugby player ambassadors and boot endorsers regardless of which team they played for and who that team’s official kit supplier was.
Let battle commence. #TakeYourShot pic.twitter.com/aSXFFkdyzM
— adidas UK (@adidasUK) September 18, 2015
Linked to the brand’s rugby #TakeAShot hashtag led campaign 9which also included ads and giveaways), this card game sees two opponents build a squad to try and beat one another by using a product-relevant set of branded playing cards divided across the four different Adidas rugby boot families: the Crazyquick, FF80, Kakari and Predator.
The cards feature adidas rugby stars who wear the relevant boots – such as Bryan Habana, Siya Kolisi, Jean de Villiers, Jan Serfontein and Bismarck du Plessis – plus other rugby superstars like Australia’s Matt Giteau, New Zealand’s Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.
‘The game is designed to enhance the rugby fever currently underway,’ explains adidas PR Manager for Performance Gugu Ntuli.
‘Adidas wants rugby fans to #TakeYourShot and continue to enjoy the rugby in-between match days.’
The Full 80 – Jersey Innovation – Design
A look behind the scenes at what it takes to create the iconic jersey of the All Blacks, the three-time World Champions and the most successful rugby team of all time. #ForceOfBlack
Posted by adidas Rugby on Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Adidas RWc 2015 work follows on from its previous ‘Blackest Jersey Ever’ campaign that launched the team’s previous kit back in November 2014,
Comment
The tone of adidas’ All Blacks work was more aggressive and more intense than the New Zealand Rugby Union’s own #WeBelong initiative leveraging the 2015 Rugby World Cup (see case study).
While the All Blacks were battling and beating the best rugby teams in the world, kit supplier Adidas was principally engaging in a semi-friendly battle against the official tournament supplier and host nation England (see case study) and Ireland (see case study) kit partner Canterbury.
If it didn’t quite reach the same level of crushing success as the All Blacks themselves, it came fairly close.
Adidas’ heritage of All Blacks advertising is one of the most impressive and innovative ‘kit partner’ and ‘team’ partnerships in world sport: stretching from the ground-breaking 2008 ‘This Is Not a Jersey – Adithread’ initiative,
to 2011’s brilliant ambient/outdoor/experiential Adidas ‘Stand In Black’ campaign for its own Rugby World Cup in back in 2011 (see case study).
This current ‘Force Of Black’ campaign continues that partnership and has been launched to coincide with the increased interest in the team as the All Blacks compete in the 2015 Rugby Championship – the annual southern hemisphere international competition also featuring Argentina, Australia and South Africa.
This year’s Rugby Championship has been reduced in scale in order to allow the teams longer to recover for the World Cup.
In addition to New Zealand, Adidas is also the kit partner for other national teams at RWC15 such as France and Italy.
Its club roster includes major province and club teams such as The Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders, Highlanders, and Stormers, plus Munster and Stade Francais, and the Kobelco Steelers and Suntory Sungoliath in Japan.
Its rugby athlete ambassador programme includes players right around the world and includes stars such as All Blacks Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Israel Dagg, and Tony Woodcock, England internationals such as Ben Youngs, Courtney Lawes, Jonny Wilkinson and Danny Cipriani, as well as Argentina’s Felipe Contemponi, and Australia’s Will Genia and Matt Giteau, France’s Morgan Parra, Lionel Beauxis and Wesley Fofana, and Bryan Habana, Ruan Pienaar, Pierre Spies and Pat Lambie of South Africa, as well as Italians Martin Castrogiovanni, Sergio Parisse, Welsh internationals Sam Warburton and Leigh Halfpenny, Scotland’s Richie Gray, and Ireland’s, Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell.
Links
Adidas Rugby YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/adidasrugbytv
Adidas Rugby Website:
Adidas Rugby Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/adidasRugby
Adidas Rugby Google+:
https://plus.google.com/115119264288478615464/posts
Adidas Rugby Twitter:
https://twitter.com/adidasrugby
Adidas New Zealand Website:
Adidas Rugby New Zealand:
New Zealand All Blacks Website:
All Blacks ABs2N:
