Cricket South Africa (CSA)’s theme song for the ICC T20 World Cup, ‘I’m On Fire’, has gone viral partly driven by the song-and-dance skills of swashbuckling cricket superstar and front man AB de Villiers.
While other players also appear in the video, it is the big hitting de Villiers (one of the most destructive players in the modern game) who is front and centre of the three-minute video reworking of the Pitbull hit song ‘Fireball’.
In addition to AB de Villiers, other Oxigen Proteas stars appearing in the video include Francois du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Rillee Rossouw, Mornie Morkel, Imran Tahir (as well as passionate South Africa fans).
As well as their on-pitch moments, the films captures the players take turns rapping and singing and chanting ‘We’re bringing it back’ in a pledge to win the competition and take the trophy home.
The song – which aims to fit with and amplify the excitement, fun, energy and entertainment that surrounds T20 cricket – was developed with CSA’s video content production agency T+W.
The video was initially posted by ProteasCricket on its own YouTube channel in late February and has subsequently gone viral.
NB Due to music rights issues, the song can currently only be viewed in South Africa and India.
The spot is also being amplified across Cricket South Africa’s social platforms.
Keep your fire burning by checking out the #Fireball video here: https://t.co/d0TpmCNvgQ #ProteaFire pic.twitter.com/qVWTUWGdMM
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) March 6, 2016
The anthem, part of CSA’s campaign to drive public support for the team in South Africa during the tournament, was launched in the week before the competition began.
The track’s original title links to CSA’s ongoing #ProteaFire tagline and the campaign encourages fans to use the hashtag #ProteaFire across social media (on Twitter and Instagram or Facebook) to spread support and good luck messages for the team.
Fans can log in to the campaign hub at http://cricket.co.za/add-your-voice to see the messages of support from all other Protea supporters as well as search for their own messages on the team’s inspirational wall – which will also be shown in the South African team’s ICC T20 World Cup hotel team room.
This video spoof follows on from Cricket South Africa’s January campaign that focused on writing a new team song (part of building and defining the #ProteaFire culture) which the players sing after every victory.
It was in June 2015 that Oxigen Wallet became the official Proteas T20 team sponsor and Chairman & MD of Oxigen Services commented on the campaign at its launch:
‘We are extremely delighted with our steadfast business partnership with Blue Label Telecom for the last 12 years, and with our sponsorship for Cricket South Africa for the Oxigen Proteas T20 squad, we find another energizing association. This campaign sets a global example on how promotions across countries can be weaved together for a worldwide reach. I would like to thank and wish the CSA teams all the best for their games during the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.’
Comment
The video, perhaps the most initiative T20 World Cup activative execution in the lead-up to the tournament, has captured plenty of attention.
Whether cricket fan or music lover, the world seems to be taking notice of de Villiers musical talents as the video has now passed 250,000 total YouTube and social views.
The Proteas, who were reportedly involved in the creative process from the beginning, aren’t the only sports stars to have played out their rock star fantasies in a spoof music video led campaign.
Other recent examples range from Bubba Watson’s charity rap partnership with Ping (see case study), to the All Blacks 2015 Rugby World Cup #SafetyDefenders ‘Men In Black’ spoof with Air New Zealand (see case study).
The ICC T20 World Cup, hosted by India, takes place between 8 March and 3 April and South Africa play their series opener against England on 18 March at Wankhede Stadium.
Links
Cricket South Africa Website:
Cricket South Africa Twitter:
https://twitter.com/officialcsa
Cricket South Africa Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CricketSouthAfrica
Cricket South Africa YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/cricketsatv
ICC Cricket T20 World Cup:
http://www.icc-cricket.com/world-t20
