Local agency grabs adidas rugby

By SIMON HENDERY

It could be seen as the advertising industry equivalent of a ball boy running on to Eden Park half way through a test and grabbing the ball off Jonah.

Auckland-based agency Whybin/TBWA has pulled off such a stunt by picking up creative responsibility for adidas International's New Zealand rugby communication, with particular focus on the All Blacks.

To win the work, Whybin has had to take it off Amsterdam-based 180/TBWA - the hallowed "global creative hub agency" for adidas and the agency behind the latest head-turning "Impossible is Nothing" adidas TV commercials.

The surreal ads feature a young Mohammed Ali jogging with sports superstars and the same young Ali sparring in the ring with his daughter Laila.

Given the creative talent available to global sports giant adidas, being able to wrestle control of the All Blacks property away from the Northern Hemisphere is something of a coup.

"This is a great compliment and a result of the strong relationship that has been developed between Whybin/TBWA and adidas over the last 14 months," said Whybin chief executive David Walden.

He said the broadening of Whybin's role reflected the quality of work it had delivered over the past year, in particular through the global launch of adidas' "Impact - The Art of Rugby" campaign.

That campaign involved having All Blacks cover themselves in paint and smash their bodies against blank canvases to create "impact art".

The works appeared in print and the original canvas was put on show at Auckland Airport.

The concept was thought up by creatives at 180 but Whybin took it a step further with the team mural concept.

Whybin's first play under the new arrangement has been the current campaign for Super 12.

Whybin's Adidas account director Mark Cochrane says the Super 12 campaign picks up on the global "Impossible is Nothing" mantra by celebrating "impossible moments" of rugby trickery with the catchline: "If you ever see it, you'll see it here."

The TV commercials - one for each team - feature Super 12 players filmed, documentary-style, pulling off some near-impossible ball moves.

The print ads follow a similar theme, with time-lapse images of players performing daring manoeuvres.

"We focused on the free-flow style and the impossible moves that are pulled off in the Super 12," said Whybin creative Guy Roberts.

"Think of the 'Rok spin' or the 'banana kick' and you think Super 12. These moves like many others started in the Super 12."

Adidas global sports marketing manager of rugby, Andrew Gaze, said the company had made increasing awareness of its Super 12 involvement a priority this season.

"The essence of the campaign is to showcase the excitement of impossible rugby, rugby that is only just within the realms of possibility, moves that are just physically possible, which the rugby fan has never thought of or witnessed before."