There were some people – some in the media, some NRL fans – who didn’t warm to the new NRL campaign, even with its fabulously evocative theme song. Graciously, The Monkeys has tweaked it.
The campaign has history. This year is its 30th anniversary. In 1990, Tina Turner made the NRL Simply The Best, with a song that underlines both the feeling that NRL gives fans and the quality that the players bring to the game.
The 2020 campaign is still underscored by its greatest and most meaningful asset. The NRL had invited past and present players, media identities, administrators and partners to choose thirty iconic on and off-field moments. These were featured in the campaign. The updated campaign still recalls the rugby league’s most iconic on-field moments and off-field impact. Now it should please all.
“I am thrilled the NRL is still excited about Simply The Best and will use it again after 30 years,’’ Turner stated. “30 years on, to see the song being celebrated and the campaign re-launched is very humbling. To this day I have very fond memories of the campaign and the Grand Final performance in 1993. I can still remember climbing to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at dawn to film the commercial.”
The Monkeys executive creative director, Vince Lagana, commented, “Tina Turner’s ‘90s ad was an iconic moment not just for rugby league, but Australian sport. It brought a new legion of fans and players to the code. So it only seems fitting that we celebrate the NRL’s culture-defining moments of the past 30 years, to the backing of the game’s unofficial anthem.”
NRL chief executive, Todd Greenberg, noted that the campaign reflects on the impact of rugby league in Australian communities and how our game, like no other, brings communities and cultures together.
“We have always stood for inclusion and the campaign addresses some of the most important social issues our game has helped shape.” The campaign combines a mix of nostalgic rugby league moments to strike a chord with diehard fans but also highlights the game’s focus on inclusion which will connect with a younger more progressive fan base.
Credits
Client: NRL Marketing
Head of Marketing & Brand: Peter Jarmain
Senior Marketing Manager: Nicole Chesher
Marketing Specialist: Lani Evans
Creative Agency: The Monkeys, part of Accenture Interactive
Executive Creative Director: Vince Lagana
Creative Directors: Dan Fryer & Stuart Alexander
Writer: Michael Dawson
Producer: Wendy Gillies
Group Account Director: Ciaran Miller-Stubbs
Account Director: Anna Willis
Senior Account Manager: Ruth Peck
Senior Planner: Charlotte Marshall
Production Company: Good Oil Films
Director: Stuart McIntyre
Producers: Chana McLallen & Sam Long
Casting: Natalie Jane Harvie @ Citizen Jane
Music & Audio: Tim Bridge @ Sonar Music
Music Supervisor: Anton Trailer @ Trailer Media
Editor: Simon Price & Phoebe Taylor @ Arc Edit
Flame Artist: Eugene Richards @ Arc Edit
Grade: Alter Ego, Toronto
