Why is this work relevant for PR?

We didn't have the budget of some of the major sponsors (KFC, NIKE, Toyota to name a few) of the BBL so we had to 'out-think not out-spend'. We knew that a deoderant placing a logo under the armpits of umpires was clever enough and silly enough to get widespread coverage in Australia. Little did we know that it would also go global getting coverage in Dubai, South Africa, England and all across India. It was also being talked about in non-cricketing nations too

Background

The BBL 2020-21 series will go down as the ‘Year of the Pit’ where Rexona owned the summer after unveiling a new form of advertising sponsorship – ‘Pitvertising’. The stunt saw the Rexona logo with its iconic tick featured on the underarms of cricket umpires’ uniforms during the season in an industry-first sponsorship deal with Cricket Australia. Rexona has a long history of aligning with professional sport, we were tasked with demonstrating their role in high pressure moments over the summer. So, we partnered with Cricket Australia to bring a new media placement to life during the BBL seemed like a naturally fit. The creative was designed to draw a parallel between Rexona’s ability to keep you cool under pressure and the umpire’s ability to keep their cool in high-pressure moments.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Unlike a standard sponsorship plastered over the front and backs of players uniforms, ‘Pitvertising’, placed under the armpit meant the logo was only revealed during dramatic, high-stress BBL moments when the umpires raised their arms (to make game signals), making the message that Rexona Deodorant keeps you cool under pressure impossible to miss. The stunt was quickly picked up by news outlets and talked about around the globe. It’s really simple and direct, and the fact that it will be hidden for the majority of the game and then reveal itself after a wicket or when the sixes start flying makes its impact even stronger. There’s a lot of rules and regulations around players and officials’ uniforms, so we partnered with Cricket Australia - the national governing body for the game in Australia to help bring this fresh, new media idea to life.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Rexona has a long history of aligning with professional sport and talking to sports fans. We were tasked with demonstrating their role in high pressure moments over the summer. So, working with Cricket Australia to bring a new media placement to life during the BBL seemed like a naturally fit. The work not only delivered their objectives but knocked them out the stadium with earned media and an increase in sales of Rexona around Australia.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Unlike a standard sponsorship plastered over the front and backs of players uniforms, ‘Pitvertising’, placed under the armpit meant the logo, was only revealed during dramatic, high-stress BBL moments. These moments, when the umpires raised their arms (to make game signals), sent a clear message that Rexona Deodorant keeps you cool under pressure. It was a hidden logo that was impossible to miss. The stunt was quickly picked up by news outlets and talked about around the globe. It was seeded in mainstream media 3 days before the tournament and went global instantly.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign was picked up by every major news publication in Australia (Guardian, SMH, news.com.au, The Australian, Yahoo Sport, Fox Sports, The Roar plus commercial Radio too). The messaging was consistently tied to our broader brand proposition of 'Rexona keeps you cool in high pressure moments). The logo was viewed over 1 billion times across the broadcast period and was the number 1 trending topic on twitter (unpaid) at launch. Sales of Rexona increased by 10% YoY during the campaign period and has remained consistent since catapulting Rexona to the number 1 deodorant brand in Australia.