Kia, sister company of former NFL auto partner Hyundai, leveraged Super Bowl LV despite no longer having official rights through a campaign called ‘The Game Must Go On’ based around its sponsorship of the Woodrow Wilson High School football team.
The idea behind Kia Motors’ initiative is to use the Big Game to focus on a football-related segment of the US population particularly impacted by the pandemic – high school football programs.
‘The Game Must Go On’ campaign, created in harness with agency David&Goliath, kicked off with a $50,000 donation to the Woodrow Wilson Tigers (a high school team from Camden, New Jersey).
In autumn of 2020, the Tigers had to suspend the season due to budget cuts and social distancing mandates – which left their 68 players without a season.
To highlight the struggle and Kia role in supporting programmes in need, the campaign includes a 30-second hero spot which tells the story of football programs across that country that have been struggling since the start of the pandemic.
The online video’s voiceover seeks to shine a spotlight on the problem and on Kia’s commitment to America’s youth: “High schools are where many players get their start. To give what we can to keep those dreams and those stories alive. Because the game must go on.”
As well as launching ahead of the Super Bowl, the campaign’s 5 February rolled out also leveraged national signing day: the day on which many high school seniors accept offers to play college ball.
Further strands of the campaign include a series of supporting social content pieces and digital videos.
High school football is part of the fabric of our communities. So Kia made a commitment, through our #AccelerateTheGood program, to support programs that could most use the help. We’re proud to announce the recipient of our first donation, @WWHS_Camden. The game must go on! pic.twitter.com/BiI4ySEZ04
— Kia Motors America (@Kia) February 7, 2021
“We’re honoured and humbled to accept such a wonderful donation from Kia Motors,” said Camden City School Superintendent Katrina McCombs. “Our children and student-athletes deserve every opportunity to compete in the classroom and on the athletic fields. We know first-hand that this generous donation will help restore and elevate our football program for some very deserving student-athletes.”
“For many athletes, high school is where they get their start, and sports is their life.” added Mark Koelfgen, ECD at David&Goliath. “Partnering with Josh Jacobs for last year’s big game, we saw that reality snap into focus. How important his high school football program was to the realisation of his dream, his story. With school athletic programs across the country on the chopping block due to pandemic budget cuts, we saw an opportunity to help these young players keep their stories alive. And if we can make a difference to even a few kids who want nothing more than to play the game, we’ll consider it a win.”
The campaign was created for Kia by a team at agency David&Goliath which included Founder & Creative Chairman David Angelo, President Yumi Prentice, Executive Creative Director/Copywriter Mark Koelfgen, Executive Creative Director/Art Director Frauke Tiemann, Group Creative Director/Art Director John O’hea, Group Creative Director/Copywriter Steve Clarke, Associate Creative Director/Copywriter Chris Mead, Associate Creative Director/Art Director Kris Wong, Managing Director, Integrated Production & Technology Peter Bassett, Executive Digital Producer Justine Kleeman, Associate Director, Project Management Genie Lara, Senior Project Manager Mike Antonellis, Managing Director Lisa Tanner, Account Director Sarah Masket, Freelance Account Supervisor Aurelia Fulginiti, Account Executive Quinn Rufener, Assistant Account Executive Britney Bencomo, Chief Strategy Officer Laura Forman, Group Strategy Director Bruno Cunha, Associate Communications Director Natalie Gomez, Senior Creatist Jasmine Spraglin, Strategist Beka Tesfaye, Comms Planner Hailey Kim, Freelance Senior Business Affairs Manager Camara Price, Senior Business Affairs Manager Yenia Paez and Product Information Manager Mark Mcnaul.
Editorial was handled by Spinach, colour correction by Company 3, finishing by Method, with audio post by Margarita Mix, Music by APM and stock footage from Getty.
Comment:
The initiative, which is an extension of Kia USA’s ongoing ‘Accelerate The Good’ brand purpose initiative, will see the auto company make a series of donations to high schools across the US that are most in need.
Kia’s commitment to continue to supporting America’s youth began in 2019 with the launch of the ‘Great Unknowns Scholarship’ program established to help young people in need get a foothold in higher education and it continued into 2020 with two separate $1 million donations to organisations that support America’s homeless youth population.
Links:
Kia Motors USA
David&Goliath
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