Queen Elizabeth I’s iconic ‘Heart Of A King’ Spanish Armada speech sits at the heart of Football Association sponsor Budweiser’s rally call aimed at inspiring the England Lionesses as the 2019 FIFA World Cup kicks off.
431 years after Elizabeth rallied the nation amidst the 1588 threat from the mighty Spanish Armada, the England team’s official beer partner (and its in-house agency, DraftLine) reworked her words for an epic send off.
The send-off / kick-off campaign, which carries the hashtags #BeReady and #Lionesses, saw the official partner of the England Women’s senior side launch a campaign led by a powerful film celebrating the strength and courage of the England team.
The initiative assembled some of the country’s most inspirational female talent to channel the Elizabeth’s spirit with a full-throated rallying cry.
The beer brand’s campaign calls on fans to lend their support to the team by bringing the power of history to bear, but brings the past into the present through a powerful line-up of contemporary English women.
Famous faces fronting the campaign range from actors, musicians and entrepreneurs to sports stars and footballers and include Naomie Harris, Suki Waterhouse, Rachel Yankey, Jessie Ware, Zawe Ashton and Nicola Adams.
A group that boasts three OBEs, two Olympic titles, six gold medals, 129 caps, three top 10 albums, a fashion label, and an Academy Award nomination.
The soot is running across the beer brand’s UK channels,
Queen Elizabeth I's iconic speech reimagined 431 years later. Inspirational talent from on and off the pitch. One epic send off. pic.twitter.com/gIyswKHaTc
— Budweiser UK (@BudweiserUK) June 7, 2019
and is part of the brand’s ongoing #BeReady brand platform which also includes a range of additional World Cup content which launched on International Women’s Day.
In celebration of #InternationalWomensDay we are proud to support those who shine every day. https://t.co/P1DgPuFnZ7 pic.twitter.com/HUEeOjDUSm
— Budweiser UK (@BudweiserUK) March 8, 2019
“As official partner to the team, we wanted to honour the incredible women who make up the Lionesses and play our small part in shining a light on them as they take centre-stage at the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup,” said Budweiser marketing director Tatiana Stadukhina.
“As powerful words originally spoken by a powerful woman, delivered by powerful women today, this is a fitting send-off and one we hope will rally the nation.”
Budweiser is heavily invested in English football with Bud Light being the official partner of the senior men’s team with the Budweiser brand also serving as the official beer of Wembley Stadium.
Comment:
Inspiring stuff, although if a brand activated around the men’s team through themes of wars and battle against the French, Germans or Spanish there would likely be a totally different perspective on this creative approach.
Still, even some of England’s famous historians are supporting the campaign: including famous Tudor historian Lucy ? (who is also known for gleefully relishing dressing up in period costume in her history programmes).
WELL here's a very delightful thing indeed! Queen Elizabeth I, no less, collaborating with the England womens' football team . Let's hope the Tilbury Speech works as well as it did in 1588 as the @Lionesses go into World Cup. #Tilbury #HeartsOfKings #Ad pic.twitter.com/gozsVX2Vbk
— Lucy Worsley (@Lucy_Worsley) June 7, 2019
And for those seeking more information about the original speech here’s Cate Blanchet’s version from the movie Elizabeth 1.
Previous Budweiser campaigns for previous World Cups include its global Russia 2018 activation (see case study) and Brazil 2014’s ‘Rise As One’ (see case study), while its Euro 2016 ‘Made By You’ initiative saw it infuse beer with England fan passion (see case study).
Links:
Budweiser
https://www.youtube.com/user/budweiserUk
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