Chris Hemsworth pitches Bulldogs’ fairytale victory as a Hollywood movie in new AFL promo
The AFL has revived the line of “I’d Like to See that” first run in 1994 and brought back to life earlier this year with the launch of Women’s AFL in massive new campaign starring Chris Hemsworth.
Hemsworth pitches a blockbuster movie to Hollywood moguls in the 2017 AFL campaign.
The decision to go with the Australian actor (who also stars in campaigns for Foxtel) came after research by the league which suggested he was the top ranking Australian celebrity with AFL fans, with wide appeal to women and families.
Hemsworth’s credibility as the face of the game for 2017 was further enhanced by his passion for the Bulldogs, who snatched their first AFL premiership in last year’s Grand Final.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PX7eU-fXDE
The new work is the start of a multi-year-campaign which will aggregates the AFL’s seasonal campaigns under a constant creative strategy which has been developed with Cummins & Partners.
Tapping into Hemsworth’s Hollywood background and the fairytale nature of the Bulldogs win, the ad opens with the actor pitching a movie to a room of sceptical Hollywood moguls.
As he unveils the title, AFL: The Movie, he starts to tell the tale of a team that has not won a premiership in 62 years.
“The Bont” smashes up the room in the new AFL ad.
Asking if the fairytale can be repeated he introduces Bulldogs player Marcus “the Bont” Bontemelli, who proceeds to barrel his way around the room with the ball before smashing through a window.
“This is a modern day epic,” Hemsworth says, “This is footy”.
AFL head of marketing Julian Dunne said the campaign was a chance to ignite the passion of the sport in existing fans and bring new ones on board.
“The campaign is a celebration of what makes the game unique and spectacular – the live experience, the incredible skills of the players and the passion of the fans,” Dunne said.
“The Western Bulldogs premiership win is one of the great sporting stories, and with Chris being such a huge Bulldogs fan, he was a natural fit. He was really passionate about the campaign and involved through the whole process, including the idea and the script. He was brilliant to work with and we were thrilled that he wanted to be involved.”
The AFL will run the campaign across Seven, Foxtel and on social media, with Ten different ads to be rolled out of the course of the season.
Ads will also be tailored to local markets featuring local teams with a heavy focus on New South Wales and Queensland, as well as a focus on families, kids and women.
The AFL will also extend the reach of the campaign through contra deals and will use outdoor to highlight stars of the game.
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Saw it on Triple M!
Nice work Cummins and AFL!
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Pretty bloody good.
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“The campaign is a celebration of what makes the game unique and spectacular – the live experience, the incredible skills of the players and the passion of the fans,” Dunne said.
Nothing unique about that unfortunately. Just a great campaign and great thinking by C&P as expected.
If only stadiums weren’t that empty during broadcasts… The issue isn’t a marketing issue.
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the comment from ‘yea but’ makes me wonder why no-one is credited or quoted from Cummins? Did agency develop concept and AFL produce in-house? just a query….
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@query
You obviously don’t follow the sport. The AFL is a QANGO.
Very controlling, very sensitive about image and would control every word and syllable. Thisnisnthwornbig moment and a mere vendor like Cummins wouldn’t get a look in. Shame…they deserve a shout out. Cracking spot.
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Sorry, but this is epically boring. It’s written to a formula and the extras acting is forced… a pity on such a good brief.
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Your question shows you know nothing about production.
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I think this is great.
I like the work.
A client doesn’t make the ad. Nor the talent.
The script. The idea. The joy. It starts with creative people. Well done those involved. From the Agency.
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Hi Department of AFL.
I don’t think that QANGO means what you think it means…
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Tim…I know journalists think are smarter than everyonever else…but 8 know what I meant. A Qango is a quasi autonomous government organisation…and if you knew anything about the AFL….it..and the people in it…actually act like one..
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Forgive the typos.
*everyone
*I know
*Non government
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I love the snippet of EMF’s “Unbelievable” at the close. Fantastical work.
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