France’s Franck Mesnel.
What do Princess Charlene, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Miss World Rolene Strauss have in common?
They are all members of the star-studded cast assembled by SuperSport for its ambitious Rugby World Cup campaign which kicks off this weekend.
The campaign incorporates famous South African and international personalities pledging “Our Hearts Are In It”, the SuperSport slogan crafted for the tournament.
The campaign is highlighted by two 90-second promos and more than a dozen 60-second vignettes with famous people recalling their best rugby memories.
Among those in the promos, in clips featuring them clutching at their hearts, are PJ Powers, Trevor Noah, Morné du Plessis, Bryan Habana, Chester Williams, Strauss, Sean Fitzpatrick, Franck Mesnel, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Princess Charlene, Ryk Neethling, Hekkie Budler, Sam Warburton and Richard Hill.
Francois Pienaar.
Ogilvy, DStv’s advertising agency, presented the strategy of rallying the nation around the “Hearts Are In It” call and this formed the brief SuperSport put to various production houses.
“We have to get people behind the Boks. We are also a broadcaster of the event, so we couldn’t be aligned solely to the Boks. We had to truly be the World of Champions,” explained Katherine Hughes, SuperSport’s on-air marketing manager.
Admit One Productions won the pitch on the basis of their concept, which encompassed multiple platforms, in line with SuperSport’s broadcast strategy.
“They produced so much content that one 60-second promo became two 90-seconders with much more for online and elsewhere,” added Hughes. DStv’s Catch Up service and digital platforms will also showcase the campaign.
While the bulk of the shoots took place in South Africa, many did not. Admit One also travelled to Wales, Ireland, England, France and Monaco to secure big names like Fitzpatrick, Princess Charlene and former World Cup winner Richard Hill. In all, they were allocated 23 shoot days to secure all the footage.
The man we love to hate – Sean Fitzpatrick (who could not have been more helpful or friendly).
Said Ruette Steyn, chief producer of Admit One: “The concept and timeframe was so easy to understand. It was an emotional thing, so everyone knew what we wanted. We needed 15 minutes, tops.”
She was delighted with the outcome: “This campaign was the one we were waiting for. You dream of putting content like this together.”
Voiceover artist Patrick Willis has years of experience and even he was blown away by the impact. “It’s one of the most powerful pieces I’ve ever seen and even my bokkie was close to tears,” he remarked.
There were some quirky moments along the way, like seeing Miss World manage a wardrobe change in a car in front of the Union Buildings.
One-time All Black nemesis Fitzpatrick hosted the crew at Stoke Park golf club in Nuckinghamshire. Former England football player and manager Glenn Hoddle wandered past and then Fitzpatrick walked up holding a bacon sandwich and a coffee.
“He was the consummate pro, just lovely,” said Steyn. “He asked how Naas Botha was doing.”
Noah was as funny as you would expect and ad-libbed his way through any number of humorous moments.
As John Smit was preparing for his shoot on Durban pier, a jogger ran past. “So when are the Sharks gonna win again?” he blurted out.
“Ja,” said Smit, the Sharks’ chief executive, “I get a lot of that these days.”
There was a hairier moment during a crowd scene shoot that required a podium and seating for a crowd shot. At one point an extra’s hair caught alight, to which Springbok Oupa Mahoje enquired “I think someone’s smoking at the back.”
Fortunately no great harm came to the unfortunate woman.
Hughes said the Springboks were great fun to work with. “You would be surprised at some of the antics. They have amazing camaraderie and were so patient. ‘Take 100’ would be no problem for them.”
The vignettes boast content gold with the like of Ashwin Willemse, Springbok PR manager AnneLee Murray, 1995 World Cup announcer Malcolm Gooding, Hall of Fame TV producer Scott Seward and Fikile Mbalula sharing heartfelt rugby cameos.
PJ Powers.
The two promos will play out tomorrow, to coincide with the Springboks’ first match of the Rugby Championship against Australia.
The 13 stories will begin flighting on August 1.
