ENGLAND RUGBY

The Rugby World Cup represents the absolute pinnacle of the sport. We collaborated with England Rugby to produce a campaign that could grow audiences and get the entire nation behind the team for the 2019 World Cup hosted in Japan.

The brief required us to create a player-led campaign that would appeal to a wide-ranging audience, including everyone from rugby fanatics to families. 

With Japan as the host nation, we developed an idea entitled ‘Rising Sons’, playing on the commonly used description of Japan as ‘the land of the rising sun’. The campaign aimed to position the players as ‘sons’ of England, uniting the country to support the team.

Within the squad, almost every region was represented. We wanted to tell the personal stories of each player, and document their journey from schoolboy rugby to representing their country at a World Cup, making each county feel like the team represents them.

The look and feel of the campaign was centred around the visual world of manga – paying homage to the typography and energetic graphic bursts of the comic art whilst working within the confines of the England Rugby identity. 

The campaign was brought to life throughout the team's journey to the final, living everywhere from Instagram profile frames to the walls of Rugby House at Twickenham. This was a World Cup campaign that didn't just promote a team, it made the nation feel like part of it.