| Title | SACRED GROUND |
| Brand | ADIDAS |
| Product / Service | SPORTING GOODS |
| Category | C02. Consumer Products (incl. Durable Goods) |
| Entrant | WHYBIN\TBWA GROUP MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA |
| Entrant Company | WHYBIN\TBWA GROUP MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA |
| Advertising Agency | WHYBIN\TBWA GROUP MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA |
| Production Company | INFINITY SQUARED Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| 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 |
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.
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.
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.
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.