Carat Pulls Out All the Stops for Adidas

MEDIA RELEASE

1 JUNE 2005

Carat Pulls Out All the Stops for Adidas

Independent media agency Carat New Zealand has come up with several unique media innovations to promote adidas’s ‘Last Man Standing’ All Blacks vs Lions Tour campaign.

Firstly, Carat New Zealand launched the campaign with adidas’s new “epic”, 3-minute TV commercial playing in a “roadblock” pattern – the full 3-minuter on TV ONE and shorter versions on TV2 and TV3 – during peak viewing between 6.30pm and 7pm on Sunday 29 May. The TVC features the All Blacks and the Lions playing full-contact bullrush in keeping with the “Last Man Standing” adidas Lions Tour campaign slogan.

Secondly, Carat has expanded the campaign to include New Zealand’s first dedicated, contentdriven ITV (Interactive TV) channel on SKY Digital Channel 915. The “915” channel number is also the model number of the state-of-the-art adidas rugby boot sported by the All Blacks during the Lions tour.

Screening the TVC in such a high profile time break was a calculated move designed to kick-start the long anticipated tour and is also an expression of the seriousness with which adidas regards its sponsorship of the iconic All Blacks, according to Carat New Zealand Client Service Director Matt Berry.

“It’s a flagship statement in a much larger campaign that has already generated a substantial groundswell of interest in both the adidas brand and the tour itself,” says Mr Berry. “We’ve pulled out all the stops to support the campaign."

The 3-minute TVC plays continuously on the ITV channel, but SKY Digital subscribers can also select with their remote controls various features within the channel including a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the ad from Jonah Lomu and ex-English Captain Martin Johnson, and an interactive rugby goal-kicking game.

Having successfully kicked a digital rugby ball between a pair of digital rugby goalposts, game players then receive a code they can text to adidas to win prizes, including a trip to the Bledisloe Cup and adidas “Supporter Kits” of All Black fan merchandise.

“It’s the Holy Grail of media: a campaign that actually embodies the client’s brand essence, which in this case is ‘Impossible Is Nothing’,” says Carat New Zealand Managing Director Rob Roydhouse.

“It’s extremely exciting working with a sophisticated marketing client who is not afraid of trying something new. We are very proud of this campaign which shows what can be achieved with vision and hard work."

The campaign is part of a wider strategy of invoking grassroots support for the tour through unconventional channels, according to adidas Marketing Manager Craig Waugh.

“We’re delighted with the communication concepts Carat have structured with this campaign and, although we can’t say too much at this stage, there are further innovations in the pipeline that we’re very excited about."

ENDS

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