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Destination

In a World Cup year, leading deodorant Rexona/Sure wanted to engage 16-34 year old men with the new Rexona for Men Sport range, without getting lost in all the other football-related noise.

Platform

We recognised that most men love football and that, in the extreme, football fans are almost animalistic in their behaviour. We aimed to tap into the universal passion of football fans and their love of the beautiful game, rather than aligning with teams or players.

Design and delivery

Building on the campaign idea, ‘lets you go wild', we developed ‘Fanimals', a series of documentary-style programmes focusing on the natural history of football fans. In 13 episodes of 26 minutes each, we told the stories of real football fans whose die-hard love for their team has passed into obsession. Content was international, focusing on a theme in each episode to illustrate fan behaviour. For example, migration covered fans prepared to travel anywhere to watch their team.

The series title carried the brand name, ‘Sure/Rexona Fans United', ensuring maximum exposure and recognition. It was placed at the centre of the Rexona for Men launch campaign and was supported by local events, including the ‘Sure Fan Zone' in London, where fans could go wild while watching giant screens showing live World Cup matches. The events were promoted locally and a competition to find the ‘Wildest Fan' was launched. Both the series and surrounding events got heavy PR support to maximise their effect.

Evaluation

The plan was rolled out across 34 territories worldwide, with local language versions of the Fans United series placed with channels at no extra cost. The activity generated significant awareness, valuable PR, and a rise in Brand Health Check measures (Millward Brown) and brand sales, effectively launching the Rexona brand into sports.