A mid May ‘Sports Gets Back Up’ campaign from Sky Sports in New Zealand builds excitement around the imminent return of live action to Kiwi living rooms.
Developed in harness with agency DDB New Zealand as the lockdown in New Zealand eases off and Kiwis prepare for the return of sport, the campaign is spearhead by a pair of television commercials.
The creative includes a tightly edited series of heart-in-mouth, hold-your-breath sporting moments.
The spots relive a set of agonising, head-in-hands occasions where athletes are bruised, fouled and felled to the ground. Initially it seems like they can’t get back on their feet, but with commitment, determination and resilience – and with the support of team mates – the sports stars rise up and return to the action.
According the Sky, the spot is not just reflective of the return of live sports to the TV screen, but also the resolve shown by New Zealanders preparing to return to normal life after lockdown.
“Like those injured on the field, pitch or court, our country is getting back up on its feet. Kiwis have shown resilience and support for each other over the past few difficult weeks,” said Sky New Zealand Chief Marketing Officer Steve Bayliss. “Aotearoa is a proud and strong sporting nation, so we are really excited to be bringing live sports back into people’s homes and hands very soon.”
‘Sport Gets Back Up’ is running in 60-, 30- and in 3 different 15-second spots across television and digital channels.
Outcome:
Within 24 hours, on Sky Sports New Zealand’s own social channels, the sport had generated 65000 views on Facebook, 3000 on Instagram, 1000 on Twitter and 500 on YouTube.
Comment:
This campaign follows on from a previous, early May campaign from Sky Sport and DDB NZ called ‘We Feel the Same’ which used found footage of and comments from a series of global sports stars and coaches which reflect the disappointment felt across the country about the lack of live sport on our screens during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown
Sporting stars ranging from coaches and managers like Steve Hansen and Jose Mourinho and athletes such as LeBron James and Serena Williams share their thoughts on the absence of sport, while Kiwi sports commentators James McOnie and Kate King seemingly ask the athletes tough questions (which turns out to be an adaptation for the ads).
“There’s a lot of work out there at the moment from brands commiserating with the public that’s a bit downbeat – empty streets and empty sports stadiums,” commented DDB Australia and New Zealand Regional Chief Creative Officer Damon Stapleton. “We didn’t want to do that. We wanted to acknowledge that what’s going on sucks and then find the funny side, because people need a laugh now more than ever.”
Both campaigns was DDB New Zealand work with Sky Sport’s production department to conceive and execute both campaigns from home by sifting through and utilising hundreds of hours of pre-existing footage.
‘We Feel The Same’ came in 4 different 30-second spots and 3 15-second cutdowns running across by TV and digital platforms.
The campaign was created for Sky Sports’ CMO Steve Bayliss, Head of Sport and Brand Marketing Helen Fitzsimons, Sport Marketing Manager Blair Gillman and Sport Marketing Executive Conor Beggs by a team at agency DDB New Zealand which included Regional Chief Creative Officer AU & NZ Damon Stapleton, Executive Creative Director Gary Steele, Creative Director Matt Williams and Freddie Coltart, Managing Director Chris Willingham, Senior Business Director Aaron Hodgson, Senior Account Manager Amy Harrison and Senior Planner Tom Sykes.
The production company was Sky itself and the sports creative producer was Simon Head.
Links:
Sky Sports New Zealand
https://www.youtube.com/user/skysportnzl
https://twitter.com/skysportnz
https://www.facebook.com/skysportnz
https://www.instagram.com/skysportnz/
DDB New Zealand
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