Millions support Rugby World Cup 2011 in countless ways

T-shirt art gets mobile support

T-art, founded as a participating team in the JP Morgan Young Entrepreneurs Product Showcase at UCT, offers T-shirts that have a white canvas text area on the torso where one can write or draw one's thoughts and then simply wipe off with a wet cloth once it's time for the next status update.

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GraphicMail is providing T-art with a free mobile campaign and a free email marketing account as a platform for its communications. It is running the start-up business' weekly mobile marketing campaign for the duration of the Rugby World Cup to help promote the competition. Participants become eligible for the grand prize by posting a picture of themselves wearing a T-art Springbok supporter shirt with an inspirational 'status' message written on it to the T-art Facebook fan page (accessible via the mobile news page or directly through a desktop browser) before 30 September 2011.

The launch of the T-art mobile campaign has coincided with Mobile Marketing Week from 5 to 9 September, a global celebration of mobile advertising, marketing and media, running in many major capitals and commercial hubs worldwide. For more, go to the Facebook fan page.

Photo shoot of thousands

The Jupiter Drawing Room's 'Team of Millions' photograph, depicting over 10 000 fans, arrives as a collector's item in City Press, Rapport and the Sunday Times on 11 September 2011. Throughout the ad campaign, South Africans have been urged to submit their pictures on www.teamofmillions.co.za.

"What has been extraordinary is the range of characters captured in the epic photo - the Springboks can truly feel that they have the support of all South Africans," said The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg) executive creative director Tom Cullinan.

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"The team pull-out poster has certainly been the biggest photographic execution we've ever done. Hundreds of hours have been put into the image development. Our art director, Gareth Pretorius, says it's as if the agency has landed on the moon. We've achieved such an enormous and hopefully - enduring - feat."

The integrated Absa Springbok's campaign, kicked off on July 1 with an emotive television commercial, paralleling a day in the life of an ordinary South African and a match day for the Springboks.

Then, in collaboration with Absa's other agencies, in malls across the country, fans were urged by the Springboks to have their picture taken (with a free supporter's shirt), and the response was overwhelming. Thousands of people showed up, with the most enthusiastic support seen at Maponya Mall in Soweto.

"The photo has greater resonance as people everywhere can recognise themselves in the photo. Even the Boks have the 'Team of Millions' in their change-room, which is unusual...they are honoured by the support," said Cullinan.

Sticking to the Boks

Chris Heaton, MD for Brand Inc Creative Group commented that it was another leap forward for the agency and that it relishes these opportunities to prove why it is quickly becoming industry leaders in sports design and advertising.

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The account will incorporate a thorough through-the-line campaign for the Shield brand that involves strategic preparations in addition to creative conceptualisation and execution of various marketing communications, design and roll-out of collateral during the campaign. The elements for the campaign include TV, OOH, digital media, brand activations and POS collateral.

Odele Sheik, assistant brand building manager for Unilever's Shield brand, commented that, "The agency was recommended directly by SARU to assist the company in leveraging the newly associated sponsorship of the Springboks. The agency has a very impressive portfolio of blue chip sports brands and has extensive experience in a market that is relatively new to Unilever and the Shield brand.

"Since coming on board, it has exhibited meticulous service delivery and the ability to turn concepts into actionable campaign collateral, within extremely limited time constraints."

Through-the-line elements from the campaign rolled out across the final matches of the Castle Tri-Nations Test Series with a full roll-out expected from early September drawing into the final build up for the Springboks' world title defence at the Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.

Updated at 7:58am on 9 September 2011