Samsung UK Takes Comedic Approach To Sponsorship Of RFU

Samsung has taken a "comedic approach to its RFU sponsorship, enlisting the talents of Jack Whitehall -- already known in the sporting community for panel show A League of Their Own -- to reach an audience beyond hard core rugby fans," according to Jennifer Faull of THE DRUM. Six 60-second ads are themed around attributes of rugby that Samsung also wants to appropriate such as "Power" and "Speed." Whitehall is seen "being taken through the rules of the game" by former England rugby players like Jason Leonard, Maggie Alphonsi and Lawrence Dallaglio, as well as taking part in training sessions. Additional content has "also been shot in 360-degree virtual reality to provide an immersive rugby experience by way of a lesson with Whitehall." Samsung UK Marketing Head Russell Taylor said, "Comedy is the way of connecting with people. It's a great leveler and allows us to humanize rugby moments to get close to rugby stars and see the stars in a different way. [Whitehall] brings that out." Although it is "not a sponsor of the impending Rugby World Cup, the creative is nonetheless a shift in strategy from what Samsung has previously used to laud its association with global sporting moments." Samsung is hoping the lighthearted tone of the Whitehall-fronted content in the run up to the Rugby World Cup will appeal to what it has dubbed "the big eventers," those people who "might not follow a sport religiously but will rally for a national team or event." As with other recent sporting events in the calendar, investment in social media "has been considerable." Content has been created for Twitter, Facebook and Vine while Taylor is "also planning to harness the following of its England Rugby ambassadors, enlisting them for a wave of activity" over the coming months. Taylor: "The theme of our approach is 'fish where the fish are,' so we will put out our content in the form that's most interesting at the time it's most interesting and connect with consumers around the games in a way they want to engage with us." Finally, it has partnered with Vice for a "branded content series called 'Slow Motion' where players have been filmed in high-quality resolution performing moves such as tackling and passing" (THE DRUM, 9/4).