Sports Direct launched its first Christmas campaign on 18 November which stars Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson plus hundreds of amateur athletes as it celebrates everyday legends and depicts the agony of festive gifting.
Created in harness with agency MOX London and Academy, the UK’s biggest sports retailer’s campaign is called ‘Sport Stars Here’ and introduces a new brand positioning for 2021 and beyond.
The idea is to bring to life a contemporary, emotional meaning of the term ‘legend’ and it aims to elevate the brand’s retail proposition as the ultimate sport and fitness destination on the high street: demonstrating Sports Direct’s blended bricks and clicks proposition which caters for all sports and offers a wide range of iconic brands.
The hero commercial is a high-energy, musical celebration of sport and fitness and showcases a range of sports and sports apparel choreographed in a magical festive mashup.
The lead film follows a female protagonist being asked the dreaded question by her mum ‘what do you want for Christmas?’ before exploring multiple sports. Henderson’s cameo sees the Liverpool midfielder tackled by a female footballer, while his appearance comes alongside over 100 everyday athletes who sit at the heart of the spot.
The TVC’s soundtrack is an MC Fioti remix of Sister Nancy’s ‘Bam Bam Tam Tam’.
The £5m campaign will run across UK TV in 60-, 30 and 10-second edits, as well as running online and in-store.
The media plan aims to ensure more than 40 million people across the UK will see the campaign in the lead up to Christmas and it will be featured on flagship spots in the UEFA Nations League (England vs Iceland), I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here! and Gogglebox via a highly engaging series of 60, 30 and 10-second adverts.
ATL media planning and buying was handled by The Specialist Works who have handled
The campaign seeks to mark a new era for Sports Direct (which has been the subject of much negative media coverage in recent years) and reflects the brand’s new purpose of using the power of sport to champion the legend in everyone and its proposition to become the ultimate sport and fitness destination on the high street and online.
Michael Murray, the sports retailer’s Head of Elevation, said: “The evolution of our brand is the final piece of our elevation strategy. This is just the start of things to come for the new look Sports Direct.”
Beckie Stanion, Sports Direct Chief Marketing Officer added: “This is a hugely exciting time for the brand as it marks the first time consumers will be seeing our fresh new outlook via the TVC and on social. We wanted to create something that truly captures our new strategy and purpose; championing the legend in everyone, no matter how skilled you are. This campaign does exactly that, which is why we wanted to bring on the UK’s most creative minds and source real sport and fitness talent to bring our new narrative to life.”
MOX Creative Director and Co-Founder commented: “It felt like it was our duty to bring a little light relief and joy to people’s screens this Christmas, given what a s**t 2020 has been. With Sports Direct’s ambition to champion the legend in everyone, it gave us a great platform to deliver on our collective ambition – deliver a real brand statement for Sports Direct, which redefines the retailer as we know it and sets the tone for the future of the brand. This is just the beginning of a defining journey for Sports Direct and we’re delighted that MOX is a part of it.”
The lead ad was helmed by Director Henry Schofield (best known for Stormzy’s iconic Vossi Bop music video), and other members of the creative team included stylist Toni Blaze (Editor-in-Chief of Wonderland), as well as cinematopgrapher Arnau Valls Colomer, and photographer Benjamin Lennox.
The campaign was created for Sports Direct’s Chief Marketing Officer Beckie Stanion and Retailer Marketing Manager Christopher Clarke by MOX London. The creative agency team included Creative Director Matt Bolton, Strategy Director Oscar Eavis, Business Director Xander Pietrovito and Production Director Sylvie Edwards.
Post was handled by No8, editing was by Final Cut and sound by String And Tins.
Comment:
This is a big, powerful and perhaps even exhilarating Christmas ad which seeks to leave the viewer energised, ready to move and in a festive spirit.
Like most Christmas campaigns.
But will it successfully pull off the parallel objective of relaunching a brand and driving festive sales?
And does it offer viewers something which genuinely and authentically links to current, pandemic-dominated emotions and realities?
We will leave that up to you to decide.
Links:
Sports Direct
MOX London
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