Diageo owned rum Captain Morgan has added to its stable of namesake ‘Captain Morgan’ sports endorsers by adding England T20 and One-Day cricket captain Eoin Morgan to its ambassador stable.
The Jamaican rum brand unveiled its new ambassador signing by co-ordinating a tri-partite Twitter exchange between the three Captains.
Can you guess who my new #sponsor is? Rum & colas all round #CaptainCaptain
— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) May 8, 2017
@CaptainMorganEU @Eoin16 Welcome on board @Eoin16. It's complex stuff this @CaptainMorganEU #sponsorship lark #CaptainCaptain pic.twitter.com/zTiL93xiW8
— Wes Morgan (@Wes5L1nk) May 8, 2017
This announcement was followed by a spearhead satirical TV spot featuring Eoin Morgan, Wes Morgan and, err, former England football captain Rio Ferdinand.
The commercial, developed in association with Anomaly New York, also stars Argentinean polo captain Nacho Figueras.
The word ‘captain’ is spoken more than 30 times in the 30-second spot.
Amplified across the brand’s digital and social channels, the spot, which is designed to spread the “live like a captain” message to millennials, initially rolls out in the UK but will spread to other markets globally through 2017 and 2018.
Another stand of the sponsorship sees Morgan’s cricket bat feature the Captain Morgan logo, while the makers of Original Spiced Gold have also created a limited edition bottle label featuring Eoin Morgan with his booze branded bat and dressed in buccaneer-inspired cricket whites.
@Eoin16 Look who's on board… #CaptainCaptain pic.twitter.com/YU4GcUA2g1
— Captain Morgan (@CaptainMorganEU) May 8, 2017
(Captain Morgan is named after a 17th-century welsh privateer of the Carribean seas called Sir Henry Morgan who died on 25 August 1688.)
Speaking about the new partnership, Eoin said:
“Captain Morgan clearly strategises long and hard over who it sponsors and I’m bowled over to have made the cut,” said a jokey Eoin Morgan in a statement accompanying the PR push for the new campaign.
While a brand spokesperson added: “It’s hard to put a finger on why Eoin is such a good fit for Captain Morgan. Must be his alignment with our values.”
Activative Comment:
The origins of this latest athlete ambassador deal lie in the Diageo brand’s December 2016 decision to sign up Leicester City captain Wes Morgan as an endorser (see case study).
This initial #TheresOnlyOneCaptainMorgan campaign generated an impressive 50 million impressions, 590,000 interactions and an engagement rate of 26% and it went on to scoop the ‘Best Use of PR’ gong at the BT Sport Industry Awards.
One of the more fascinating aspects of that deal was a clause on the contract that permits the Leicster captain to walk into any bar or pub and a round of Captain Morgan & Cola for everyone (over the age 18) as long he shouts “There’s only one Captain Morgan” aloud before ordering.
It is not clear whether Eoin Morgan has any similar such deal.
Who else cold the Diageo rum brand ad to its sports star ambassador stable?
Well, if US soccer star and striker Alex Morgan was given the national team armband she might be an option?
Links:
Captain Morgan
https://www.captainmorgan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CaptainMorgan
https://twitter.com/CaptainMorgan
https://www.youtube.com/user/captainmorganeuro
Anomaly New York
