Avoiding marketing sin bin
Guerilla advertisers capitalise on the Cup by tiptoeing down the sidelines, trying not to put a foot in touch
Guerilla marketing during the Rugby World Cup is a bit like taunting a particularly vicious cat. You want to skirt around the edges, get as close as you can, while doing your utmost to avoid the razor-sharp claws.
The only difference is that in this case the cat is a giant company covered in wads of money rather than fur, and the claws are a collection of intense lawyers ready to lash out at anyone who crosses them.
Alex Lawson, general manager of media agency Carat, says the first rule of marketing during the Rugby World Cup is: Don’t talk about the Rugby World Cup.
“Unless you have a licence, you can’t say anything,” Lawson says.
He explains that for New Zealand advertisers, what can and can’t be said during the Ruby World Cup is determined by two powerful organisations: World Rugby and NZ Rugby.
Any images of past Cup events, any mention of the Rugby World Cup and featuring or referencing the William Webb Ellis trophy in any way would lead to you “getting smashed” by World Rugby, says Lawson.
Similarly, any references to the All Blacks or the New Zealand rugby team by a company that’s not an official sponsor will lead to NZ Rugby calling in the cavalry.
“It’ll start with a cease and desist letter, and, if you carry on, they’ll sue you. But I haven’t ever seen anyone get sued because most advertisers usually cease and desist relatively quickly.
“They are really strict and they don’t want anyone capitalising without being a sponsor and paying the money.”
Adding further complexity to this area is the fact that being a sponsor of the All Blacks doesn’t give you the right to mention the Webb Ellis trophy, just as sponsoring the Rugby World Cup doesn’t give you the automatic right to tap into All Blacks imagery. Even the sponsors need to tread very carefully when it comes to promoting their wares.
Despite the big warning signs, this doesn’t stop some of the biggest brands in New Zealand from giving it a crack and looking for creative ways to cut through the marketing noise that always coincides with a World Cup.
“People like to skirt as close to the rules as possible or as close as their legal departments will let them. And everyone is always a bit wary because nobody really wants to go into that grey area,” says Lawson.
Guerrilla masters
Arguably one of the best local examples of a brand operating in that grey area was seen in 2011 when Steinlager unleashed its white can initiative, which told the story of a rugby fan who in 1987 pledged not to open his can of beer until the All Blacks lifted the World Cup again. The beer company has long been an All Blacks sponsor but wasn’t officially affiliated with the World Cup in any way, which meant it had to tell its story cautiously, without mentioning any of the forbidden words. That campaign proved so successful that Steinlager brought back a new iteration of it in 2015, this time encouraging fans to “believe again” as the All Blacks headed overseas.
For 2019, the brand has returned to its guerrilla roots, again looking to grab the limelight despite not being a Rugby World Cup sponsor. This time, the white can takes a back seat, with Steinlager going in a different direction by converting retail space on Auckland’s Karangahape Rd into a makeshift speakeasy where Kiwis can dye items black in a show of support for the All Blacks.
Once again, the brand has been very careful not to make any references whatsoever to the Rugby World Cup — all while claiming ownership of the colour black at the opportune moment.
Gary Steele, the executive creative director at DDB, the agency behind the stunt, told the Herald the idea had been over a year in the making and that the marketing team wanted something that would cut through the clutter that always comes with major sporting events.
“Most brands just talk about the All Blacks, but they never really do anything,” says Steele. “This is a campaign that’s all about enabling people to show their loyalty.
“It’s about what you’re sacrificing for the team — and that ties all the way back to the can. It’s about what you’re actually giving up.”
An event that spans several weeks also poses an additional challenge in that it can be difficult to stay relevant all the way through. You can, after all, only play a single ad so many times before the audience’s eyes glaze over.
Steele says this was also an important consideration with this campaign, explaining that it has turned the Black Laundry venue into something of a content studio that will enable them to capture images and videos of the quirkiest items presented for sacrifice. A wedding dress has already been taken to the inky altar.
This content-led approach is also evident in the “Home and Away” chocolate idea from Whittaker’s. The chocolate brand is listed as a supporter on the All Blacks list of sponsors, but like Steinlager it isn’t affiliated with the Rugby World Cup.
To get cut-through without stepping on any toes, the company has commissioned ambassador Jess Gerrity to take the matcha pistachio and flat white chocolates to the streets of Japan. While there isn’t any express reference to the Rugby World Cup, the timing, location and home and away references all make the message crystal clear.
While both of these examples are great, they don’t quite match the gall of Stella Artois beer during the 2011 US Open. Well aware that Heineken was the official sponsor of the event, Stella booked out the closest train station it could to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre and filled the terminal with 15 different Stella ads, making it look as though Stella was the official sponsor of the event. That took some serious (tennis) balls.