Cadbury Australia, a proud supporter of the Matildas, highlighted its commitment to Soccer Australia and women’s sport ahead of the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup with a kick-off campaign called ‘Cheer and a Half’ which aims to help fans celebrate female athletes – young amateurs and elite professionals – in all the ways the world’s male athletes are typically celebrated.
The cross-channel marketing burst, which was created by WPP sister agencies Ogilvy and Wavemaker, ran across TV, digital and social and was supported by a broadcast and streaming sponsorship of the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Australia’s Seven Network and Optus.
An anchor ‘Cadbury’s Cheer and a Half’ website, developed by Ogilvy Melbourne, included a bespoke AI tool which enabled fans to create bespoke professional posters for any female athlete – thus enabling everyone to elevate and celebrate imagery of women of all ages and abilities playing sport. The mechanic behind the ‘Highlight Your Girl’ tool was simple: consumers, athletes and football fans were invited to uploading their own photographs and then generate epic sports imagery of themselves and their loved ones through a combination of generative AI and filters.
The initiative was spearheaded by a pair of emotional TV spots, also created by Ogilvy and rolling out at the start of July, which bring the brand’s support for the Australian Women’s National team and the website’s AI ‘Highlight Your Girl’ feature to life. ‘Biggest Fan’ features a brother’s act of generosity in creating a poster for his sister, while ‘Collage’ shows the sister being generous in her support of the Matildas.
Linked outdoor activations at Melbourne’s Federation Square (on 11 July) and at Marvel Stadium (on 14 July during the Matildas v France friendly), and at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal (on 20 July) enabled fans to take selfies standing beside a lifesize photo wall of the Matildas team and then to upload their photos to the AI tool to create a bespoke poster of themselves with the Matildas.
While the media partnership with Seven/Optus, negotiated by Wavemaker, included branding and content integration across TV, BVOD and social platforms; this strand of creative focused on highlighting authentic moments of generosity, kindness, sacrifice and sportsmanship in the tournament.
“Through our ‘Women in Sport’ program, Cadbury is a long-standing supporter of our female athletes and the CommBank Matildas, and we’re thrilled to be celebrating the FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil in Australia,” outlined Cadbury ANZ VP of Marketing Ben Wicks. “We know that girls who receive social support to play sport are much less likely to drop out. But women’s sport never takes priority in a men’s sporting world, and because women’s games are often at more inconvenient times, in less accessible places, and get less coverage – it’s extra difficult for loved ones to show up with the Cheer and a Half girls need to keep playing. With this campaign, we hope to contribute to the continued growth and equality of women’s sport in Australia and further afield.”
Wavemaker APAC Client Managing Partner Nicole Hayes added: “This is an exciting time for women’s sport. We believe there’s always a better way to grow and we couldn’t be happier to aid Cadbury’s mission to level the playing field through meaningful sponsorship and integration opportunities with our media partners. It’s been a team effort with everyone playing a valuable role, in the true spirit of sport and teamwork.”
Ogilvy Melbourne Executive Creative Director Hilary Badger commented: “The FIFA Women’s World Cup is an important cultural moment and landmark event for women’s sport in Australia. Cadbury has shown long-term commitment to women’s sport over many years, so more than most brands, has plenty of reasons to celebrate. What better way than to use the power of their brand to encourage participation and support for women’s sport at all levels? We’re proud to be part of that effort and commend Cadbury for this campaign and its ongoing commitment.”
The campaign was created for Cadbury by a team at creative agency Ogilvy, at media agency Wavemaker, with film production by Versus and Hogarth and AI Tech Production by Subvrsive and Hogarth.
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According to the brand, after the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup is over, the campaign and associated platform and tool will continue into the second half of 2023 through additional sports media partnerships.
Cadbury has been leveraging its Matildas partnership through the year in the build up to the tournament and ‘Cheer and a Half’ first launched back in March 2023.
Globally, Cadbury has long ensured sport and sponsorship was a key pillar in its marketing mix and this Australian activation follows sport activations in other markets in 2023 such as Cadbury India’s ‘Cheer For All Sports’, Cadbury Ireland’s ‘Become A Supporter And A Half’, plus 2022’s Cadbury Ireland and FAI ‘Game Is On’ , Cadbury India’s ‘Proud Sponsor of Ground Staff’ and Cadbury UK’s Premier League ‘Pass It On’ programme.
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