SPECIAL OLYMPICS - KEVIN DE BRUYNE
| Title | SPECIAL OLYMPICS - KEVIN DE BRUYNE |
| Brand | SPECIAL OLYMPICS BELGIUM |
| Product/Service | SPECIAL OLYMPIC SUMMER GAMES BELGIUM |
| Category |
B04. Charities, Public Health, Safety & Awareness Messages |
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Entrant Company
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LDV UNITED Antwerp, BELGIUM
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Advertising Agency
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LDV UNITED Antwerp, BELGIUM
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Production Company
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THE PICKLES PHOTOGRAPHY Anderlecht, BELGIUM
|
Credits
| Bart Gielen |
Ldv United |
Creative Director |
| Kristof Janssens |
Ldv United |
Planning Director |
| Petra De Roos |
Ldv United |
Managing Director |
| Thomas Thysens |
Ldv United |
Art Director |
| Han Verschaeren |
Ldv United |
Art Director |
| Ruben Van Maldeghem |
Ldv United |
Copywriter |
| Tine Bongaerts |
Ldv United |
Copywriter |
| Jeffrey Uten |
Ldv United |
Designer |
| Niki Desiron |
Ldv United |
Motion Designer |
| Astrid Claus |
Ldv United |
Account Executive |
| Eline Goethals |
Ldv United |
Strategic Planner |
The Campaign
The Special Olympics Summer Games gain no attention, are unknown or confused with the Paralympics. This means that the more than 5.000 Special Olympians perform the most important games of their lives in front of empty stadiums: there’s no crowd, no attention, nothing.
Our ambitions were clear: we needed to raise awareness, start a national conversation and break the taboo around people with an intellectual disability. More importantly we needed to do this with almost no budget.
To do so, we asked the help of Kevin De Bruyne, a star player of the Belgian national football team. He’s not just regarded as a sports hero, but a national hero. We created a controversial portrait: we replaced Kevin’s eyes with those of Christof Swaenepoel, a Belgian Special Olympian. We let Kevin share this portrait with his 1,7 million followers asking the following question: “Would you still be a fan if I looked like this?” After 12h, when all eyes were on us, Kevin reposted the portrait, this time claimed by the Special Olympics.
One post, with one thought-provoking portrait and a single controversial question, managed to start a dialogue between thousands of people. Within 24h our first post alone got 1.400 shares and more than 150.000 likes. We created a conversation between thousands of Belgians. All together, zero euros in paid media generated a stunning 4 million euros in earned media. With one post, we broke the taboo and filled the stadiums: thus finally giving these athletes the attention they deserve.
The Brief
We needed to raise awareness, and start a national conversation around people with an intellectual disability. Doing so we wanted to break the taboo around people with an intellectual disability. Without breaking the taboo we wouldn’t be able to fill stadiums and give the athletes the attention they deserve.
When our campaign was running, we noticed how the public had completely become engaged with our mission. Reaching the first goals, we decided to set another goal. We wanted to give these athletes national recognition. A place on the national Sports Gala: their very own trophy: Special Olympian of The Year.
Execution
We created a controversial portrait: we replaced the eyes of our Belgian football hero, Kevin de Bruyne with those of Christof Swaenepoel, a Belgian Special Olympian. We let Kevin share this portrait with his 1,7 million followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram asking the following question: “Would you still be a fan if I looked like this?” During 12 hours everybody wondered why Kevin had posted this peculiar portrait, generating massive media attention. And when all eyes were on us, Kevin reposted the portrait, this time claimed by the Special Olympics.
Within the first 24 hours, our first post alone got 1.400 shares and more than 150.000 likes. The Special Olympics was a hot topic, with people all over Belgium talking about it. In 24 hours we broke the taboo around athletes with an intellectual disability. One Post generated a total of 16 million impressions across all media. Including 6 million digital impressions.
The Strategy
In order to reach and engage the Belgian people we asked the help of Kevin De Bruyne, a star player of the Belgian national football team. Since the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil, the players of the Belgian national football team are not just regarded as sports heroes; they’re regarded as national heroes. The strategy was simple: We don’t have a media budget of our own, so let’s use use Kevin De Bruyne’s fame and social media network to put Special Olympics in the spotlight