Late July 2020 saw National Hockey League (NHL) partner Apple Canada mark the return of hockey after its pandemic shutdown with a campaign called ‘Hockey Tape’ which was part of its ongoing ‘Shot On iPhone’ marketing platform and celebrated play and camaraderie.
Territory: Canada & USA
Agency: TBWA / Media Arts Lab
Objectives
Back in 2017 Apple penned a partnership with the NHL to equip teams with iPad Pros to enable coaches to evaluate player performance in real-time (in a deal that mirrored the tech giant’s MLB tie-up).
In terms of consumer marketing, the alliance further evolved in early 2019 through an NHL strand of Apple’s umbrella ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign which saw billboards featuring pictures of and by players displayed at hockey arenas across the United States and Canada (including Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, St Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals) supported by social media content.
The aim of the hockey strand of Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone’ is to offer fans graphically striking, behind-the-scenes glimpses into the daily lives of NHL players (such as Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin and Milan Lucic): exploring their practice facility habits, pregame routines, post-match rituals and most coveted hockey moments.
Like other professional sports leagues, the NHL paused its 2019/20 season in March 2020 due to coronavirus and returned to play in May with a new qualifying round to determine which teams advance to the traditional Stanley Cup Playoffs. Leveraging the restart, Apple Canada launched a new phase of ‘Shot On iPhone’ with a brief to create a smile-inducing piece of work about play and camaraderie on the ice.
Activation
The TBWA agency Media Arts Lab’s response to the challenge was a 30-second hero commercial called ‘Hockey Tape’ which featured a pair of Las Vegas Golden Knights players Marc-André Fleury and Mark Stone having on-ice fun with the iPhone 11 Pro.
Canadian pair Fleury and Stone pushed the iPhone 11 Pro to its limits giving viewers a chance to see the game like never before (and to witness some of the product’s key features) through camera-created footage which included Ultra-Wide and Slo-Mo shots.
The creative saw the hockey stars attach the phone to the rink’s boards, to a hockey stick and to a skate – all with hockey tape.
The ad, which was shot at the SoBe Ice Arena in Las Vegas and posted on Apple Canada’s YouTube channel on 31 July, references that hockey slang for an assist is ‘Apple’ and also encouraged viewers to ‘learn more about iPhone 11 Pro’ by clicking through to Apple’s website at https://apple.co/2XdYC1l
The campaign was further promoted through selected sports-related media partnerships: including one with The Athletic which revolved around an interview with Stone which also supported the main campaign by posting exclusive ‘making of’ video footage.
“They gave us a few props and had us do it ourselves. They asked us to have some fun, be yourself, do some goofy stuff, and we had a good time with it,” said Stone, whose Golden Knights were one of 24 teams participating in the reworked NHL’s Stanley Cup Qualifiers which at the start of August (with all games played in the Canadian cities of Edmonton and Toronto where players and other personnel have entered secure bubbles isolated from the general public).
“The cool thing was they kind of gave us a script, but they let us do whatever and show our personalities. And [Fleury] has one of the biggest personalities in the league, so it made my life a lot easier.”
The director, GLP’s Gary Land, is himself a sports enthusiast who plays hockey and is well known for directing sporting greats with personality and style. Commenting on the campaign, he said that the preparing for the spot shoot required extensive pre-light and stand-in players to test the form and function of what they aimed to film. He credited the players’ friendship and professionalism for its success, as well as the technical prowess of the iPhone 11 and copious amounts of hockey tape.
“Watching sports is a collective experience even when you are viewing from home. There’s a kinship – players and fans – and it’s very much infused in this piece,” added Land. “Although we are all going through very tough and uncertain times, if this spot can bring a momentary lift and a smile to those who see, that’ll truly be a goal fulfilled.”
Land had also previously helmed last year’s Shot on iPhone ‘Our Game’: an ad which passionately captured the phenomenon of Cricket in India with intimacy and intensity.
The campaign was created for Apple by TBWA agency Media Arts Lab where the team included Senior Art Director Yan Snajdr, Art Director Manu Gregori, Copywriter Scott Stevens, Executive Producer Cristiana Ladke Williams and Producer Alex Frenkel Producer.
The production company was GLP Creative with Director Gary Land and Executive Producers Greg Smith and Abe Sands.
Outcome
Since it was posted on 31 July, the hero spot has generated 2,412,306 views on Apple Canada’s YouTube channel (with 4.6K likes).
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