An August rebrand campaign from newly named World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) seeks to change the classic Paralympic narrative about inspiring stories of overcoming adversity by changing the perception of non-disabled audiences and juts focusing on how competitive these athletes are.
Developed in harness with Canadian agency Cossette, the campaign rolled out from 17 August and is spearheaded by a gritty, down-to-earth short film which avoids the more typically tropes seen in so many stories about disability
The 90-second spot features a man watching Team Canada’s two-time Paralympian Zak ‘The Kid’ Madell play before deciding to train himself to become a wheelchair rugby player. As the narrative unfolds, the protagonist races with the ball during a match and finds Madell crashing into him, knocking him down and stealing the ball.
The end message makes the federation’s key goal here: “We’re not here to inspire. We’re here to win.”
This repositioning initiative also introduces the new name and visual identity for an organisation previously known as the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation.
The spot airs on CBC, Accessible Media and Sportset from 24 August through 5 September during the 2020 Paralympics, while the full 90-second spot is amplified across WWR’s social channels and is paired with an audio description version of the video for better accessibility.
“Our stories are usually told through the lens of either being a ‘superhero’ or ‘superhuman’; it’s usually coming from a good place, but it can be patronizing because it completely disregards the number of hours we’ve put in and sacrifices we’ve made to play this sport at such a high level,” explained Madell in the campaign PR.
“For a fairly young sport, we’ve managed to garner a large international following, but there’s still a perception and knowledge gap that’s stopping us from reaching an even larger audience,” added WWR President Richard Allcroft. “By showcasing the game’s competitive energy and the determination of the athletes, we’re showing a side of the sport that hasn’t really been highlighted this widely before. Wheelchair rugby is a fierce and fast-paced game that’s played and watched by people of all abilities. But as an athlete, I want to be recognized for my desire to win, not just my disability.”
Comment:
Like many of communications initiatives around the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, this campaign takes a simpler, grittier approach and eschews the usual approach of disabled athletes deserving the spotlight because of their ability to motivate others and instead favours the tactic more frequently used in mainstream sports marketing – an athlete’s drive to be the best.
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