Creative Execution

We asked devoted Indian fans to touch the ground where they play cricket, and show their support for the team using #SacredGround. To lead the call for support, adidas teamed up with India’s most popular cricketer, Virat Kohli. Our message struck a chord with Kohli’s massive social following. Fans, celebrities and sports stars sent their support through #SacredGround. To make that support felt during the game, we hijacked live broadcasts, getting Indian players to touch the ground as the walked out to bat. Millions watched as they made the unique gesture at each game, and the support grew even further.

With one simple gesture, adidas connected one team to one billion fans. During the World Cup, #SacredGround trended on Twitter, gaining over 131 million social impressions. Indian players performed the Sacred Ground gesture at every single match, during live broadcasts viewed by millions. Including: India vs Bangladesh, 98 million viewers; India vs West Indies, 262 million viewers; India vs South Africa, 257 million viewers. And at the most watched sporting event in history- India vs Pakistan, the gesture was seen by over one billion viewers. All this happened without World Cup sponsorship and without a single rupee spent on media.

adidas cricket was not an official sponsor of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. But we still wanted to gain an unfair share of the conversation in the world’s biggest cricket market- India. adidas set out out to hijack live broadcasts of India’s World Cup matches, teaming up with India’s most popular batsman, Virat Kohli. In India, cricket is not a sport, but a religion. This insight led us to a powerful conclusion: ‘If cricket is religion, everywhere cricket is played is sacred ground.’ We used the religious gesture of touching the ground to enable fans in India to send their support directly to the players. As fans sent support through #SacredGround, the Indian players received it during live broadcasts of India’s matches, touching the ground as they walked out to bat. Support grew as the players performed the Sacred Ground gesture at every game, putting adidas in the spotlight.