From Burger King to IPC and Sport England to Under Armour, the Redtorch team choose their creative highlights from the world of sport 2020.
Who: Kirby O’Donnell, Social Media Manager
What: You Can’t Stop Us | Nike
Why: An incredibly clever concept executed to perfection. Such a skilful piece of creative, celebrating the inspirational aspects of sport and showcasing the commonalities shared by athletes everywhere. Powerful, emotional, engaging … amazing!
Who: Alex Ross, Director
What: Stevenage Challenge | Burger King
Why: One of the best campaigns of recent times.
Sponsor a club in League Two (Stevenage F.C.), offer incentives for FIFA 20 players to use the team on career mode, sign the world’s best players, and guide Stevenage up the pyramid.
It was inevitable – with players like Ronaldo, Messi and co. playing for Stevenage F.C. (a huge ‘Burger King’ logo plastered across their chests) – that the campaign went viral.
Brand genius.
Brilliant idea and execution from Burger King! pic.twitter.com/ca8AQOdCkq
— Jonno Simpson (@JonnoSimpson) September 22, 2020
Who: Emma Shadbolt, Senior Social Media Manager
What: Wait For The Greats | IPC
Why: Using footage and music from the latest Netflix film, ‘Rising Phoenix’, this 49-second trailer packs a powerful punch of memories, passion and perseverance into a bitesized blitz of emotions.
Tying in all aspects of Paralympic messaging with this most unusual year, the launch of #WaitForTheGreats shines a spotlight on the often unspoken stories that will grace the global stage in 2021.
Who: Jonny Murch, CEO
What: This Girl Can – Me Again | Sport England
Why: As father to a young teenage girl, I see first-hand the importance of an active lifestyle to create focus and time away from societal pressures, phones and screens to boost confidence and self-esteem. It’s fantastic how This Girl Can adapts and stays relevant over time – long may it continue.
Who: Amy Marshall, Social Media Editor
What: You Can’t Stop Us | Nike
Why: I echo Kirby on this one. This Nike ad is an outstanding piece of creative and an incredible tribute to perseverance in the face of adversity. The execution is fantastic and very convincing. I could watch it again and again.
Who: Huiyan Wang, Designer
What: The Only Way Is Through | Under Armour
Why: The power of this campaign is wonderfully expressed in this 90-second film. Its intense atmosphere makes you pumped while you watch. What stands out are the perfect combination of sound and video editing and the portrayal of tough or exciting moments. Direction, camera movement, colour correction, editing, music … every detail combines to make the film an inspiration for all creative people!
Who: Jess Reus, Project Manager
What: Stevenage Challenge | Burger King
Why: Many of my favourite pieces of creative have been mentioned above, but I have to stand by the piece that captivated me most.
It’s incredibly impressive to see such a huge brand with an enormous budget come up with such a creative, innovative and simple way to sponsor a football team. And arguably make a much bigger impact than if they had sponsored one of the largest clubs in the game.
Brilliant idea and execution from Burger King! pic.twitter.com/ca8AQOdCkq
— Jonno Simpson (@JonnoSimpson) September 22, 2020
Who: Ollie Davis, Head of Research & Insight
What: You Can’t Stop Us | Nike
Why: Because of the complexity and research involved in creating such a powerful and emotive video – choosing 36 split-screen moments from 4,000 sports-action sequences.
Who: Matt Weiner, Director
What: Surprise for Care Home Residents | NIVEA MEN & Liverpool FC
Why: There’s such a lot of sexy football content out there that makes you drool as a creative. The latest retro Arsenal stuff by adidas is so good it almost makes up for being a Gooner right now! But this surprise and delight from Liverpool and Nivea – with its tiny budget and huge heart – gave me goosebumps. I love how the strategy behind it was to help provide a ray of light in the community. It looks like the kind of project in which everyone involved would have taken huge satisfaction. What more can you ask for?
Who: James Fazackerley, Senior Strategist
What: You Can’t Stop Us | Nike
Why: We’ll only get to understand in a couple of years how effective this year’s creative has been, so for now I’m going with a brand that consistently smashes those ratings – Nike. This campaign will likely do for Nike what most others that have gone before have done: make it lots and lots of money.
Who: Chris Argyle-Robinson, Director
What: Ready For Football | NFL on ESPN
Why: ESPN nailed it with this great promo video for the 2020/21 NFL. Underscored by an unexpected song, it’s the perfect mix of humour, nostalgia and emotion.
