Swisse Wellness is activating partnership with the Australian Football League (AFL) by rolling out a new endorser led campaign focusing on preparation, passion and support right across the game both on and off the pitch.
The initiative, developed with agency Noisy Beast, is spearheaded by a new set of four player endorser deals with Daisy Pearce, Patrick Dangerfield, Shaun Burgoyne and Josh Kennedy.
All four stars feature in the latest campaign: which rolled out in the first week of April as the new season got under way.
The activation was led with a hero TV commercial first posted on the brand’s YouTube channel on 6 April.
It is the first of a set of new Swisse television commercials that will run right through the whole 2017 AFL season on Channel Seven’s Saturday AFL broadcast.
The spots are supported digitally and socially across both brand and league platforms linked by the #SwisseLovesFooty hashtag.
Swisse has been a sponsor of the AFL as the official vitamin partner since 2010 and this latest AFL work marks a shift from what the brand has rolled out in previous years.
‘AFL is a force that brings together so many passionate people who are dedicated to the game – from players, their families, to supporters, coaches and communities, it involves so many,’ explains Swisse general manager of marketing Josh Wittner.
‘We really wanted this year’s campaign to highlight and celebrate the support and hard work that goes into the sport, both on and off the field. From the hours of preparation in between games to the dark morning training sessions, there is a relentless passion that brings communities together.’
The addition of Melbourne Women’s Football Club captain Daisy Pearce in this year’s campaign reflects the company’s long-time support of women’s sport.
‘I’m so excited to be named a 2017 AFL Ambassador for Swisse. I am dedicated to ensuring my health is a priority so I am always performing at my best, so it is great to be aligned with a brand whose mission is to make millions around the world healthier and happier,’ comments Pearce.
‘It’s awesome to see the recent support women’s footy has received. Today, girls can be anything, do anything and play anything.’
‘I’m ready to take on this year’s season with Swisse: it’s a special partnership for me to align with the global health and wellness brand,’ adds Patrick Dangerfield (winner of the 2016 Brownlow medal@.
‘For me, health is everything in a match and I’m pumped to have Swisse power my performance.’
Activative Comment:
This campaign is part of an avalanche of new activation around the new AFL season: including the league’s own campaign fronted by actor Chris Hemsworth (see case study), to league sponsor Woolworths (see case study) and team sponsors such as Sydney Swans long-time partner QBE (see case study).
Interestingly, most of these campaigns include promotion of, or reference to women’s sport: a sensible approach in a year that was led with the launch of the historic first AFL Women’s League (see case study).
For example, the Woolworth’s work features Women’s AFL players Katie Brennan, Darcy Vescio and Nicola Stevens, while QBE’s campaign links to the insurer’s tie-up with netball’s NSW Swifts.
This is also the latest in a significant new wave of Swisse sports sponsorship campaigns: ranging from work activating its relationships with Ferrari (see case study) to the Paralympics (see case study).
Links:
Swisse Wellness
https://www.youtube.com/user/SwisseWellness
https://www.facebook.com/swisse.uk/?brand_redir=104778126260506
https://www.instagram.com/swisseau/
Noisy Beast
AFL
http://australianfootballleague.tumblr.com/
https://www.instagram.com/AFL/
