Results and Effectiveness

In effect we created over 40 hours of stand-up comedy. There were over 212,000 streams across the five matches, confirming the Alternative Cricket Commentary’s standing as New Zealand’s favourite online cricket commentary service. And, ticket sales for the 5 matches against India were +88% from the 5 West Indian matches who had toured just a few weeks prior. By reminding our audience of the fun to be had at the cricket, we also succeeded in bringing back the crowds too. Which is no laughing matter.

Creative Execution

Each of the six comedians were also self-confessed “cricket tragics”, so it meant they could combine their knowledge and love for the game, with their unique outlooks on life in general. Situated at each game in a 1970s chic caravan, our six commentators also roamed the ground, seeking out characters in the crowd to talk to. Hosted on the digital platform “I Heart Radio” we promoted awareness of the commentary team through the platform as well as Facebook.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Cricket is New Zealand’s summer game. Yet despite the national team’s recent resurgence in form, attendances at matches has continued to plummet. Quite obviously, young Kiwi blokes were far more interested in spending a day at the beach looking at bikini clad women, than spending a day at the cricket, which to them had become about as appealing as watching paint dry. Young Kiwi blokes love to banter and take the piss out of each other when they’re hanging out together. We tapped into this insight to remind them how much fun a day at the cricket could be. The result was the ‘Alternative Cricket Commentary”: ball-by-ball coverage of all five matches between India and New Zealand, as seen through the eyes of six of the country’s most well-known stand-up comedians.