SACRED GROUND

TitleSACRED GROUND
BrandADIDAS
Product / ServiceSPORTING GOODS
CategoryC02. Consumer Products (incl. Durable Goods)
EntrantWHYBIN\TBWA GROUP MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Entrant Company WHYBIN\TBWA GROUP MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Advertising Agency WHYBIN\TBWA GROUP MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Production Company INFINITY SQUARED Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Scott Whybin Whybin/TBWA Group Melbourne Chief Creative Officer
Paul Reardon Whybin/TBWA Group Melbourne Executive Creative Director
Matt Stoddart Whybin/TBWA Group Melbourne Senior Art Director
Ashwin Gopal Whybin/TBWA Group Melbourne Senior Copywriter
Mike Napolitano Whybin/TBWA Group Melbourne General Manager
Damyant Singh adidas Marketing Director
Siddharth Pal adidas Marketing Manager
Margot Ger Whybin/TBWA Group Melbourne Executive Producer
Lauren Pell Whybin/TBWA Group Melbourne Producer
Stephanie Leddin Whybin/TBWA Group Melbourne Producer

Brief Explanation

adidas was not an official sponsor of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. But we wanted to gain an unfair share of the conversation in the world’s biggest cricket market- India. In India, cricket is a religion. With #SacredGround, we used the simple religious gesture of touching the ground to create a new way for fans to send their support directly to the players. We hijacked live broadcasts of India’s world cup matches to show that support being received by the players, getting Indian players to touch the ground as they walked out to bat.

Results and Effectiveness

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.

Creative Execution

Using a simple religious gesture, adidas created a new way for fans to send support directly to the Indian players during the World Cup. We teamed up with India’s most popular cricketer, Virat Kohli. Using his massive social following, we asked fans to touch the ground where they play cricket, take a photo and show their support using #SacredGround. We hijacked live broadcasts of India’s World Cup matches to show that support being received by the players, getting them to touch the ground as they walked out to bat. The support grew bigger as millions saw the gesture on TV.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Cricket is a religion in India. With 2015 World cup happening in Australia, there was a need to make all that support at home, felt on foreign soil. While adidas was not a official World Cup sponsor, we did have access to adidas athlete Virat Kohli, India’s most popular batsman. With his help and influence, we set out to hijack live broadcasts of India’s matches. We used Kohli’s massive social following help spread our message to devoted Indian fans. Using a religious gesture as a means of sending support really resonated with our audience.