Leveraging the unprecedented media coverage around debutant Harley Reid’s first game for the West Coast Eagles, PUMA Australia and agency Bursty generated plenty of footy fan and sports marketing buzz on 17 March when it took out a simple, single, full-page ad on the back page of Perth based The Sunday Times to wish good luck to the much hyped, 2023 number one draft pick and recently signed Puma athlete ambassador Harley Reid on the day of his Australian Football League (AFL) debut.
Objective
Background
Harley Reid, born 17 April 2005, is arguably the most hyped AFL debutant in many years. Reid grew up in the Victorian town of Tongala, attended St Joseph’s College in Echuca and played junior footy for Tongala Football Club, Bendigo Pioneers and the Victoria Country representative side, plus a few games for Essendon and Carlton in the Victoria Football League (VFL) – the AFL’s second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition.
Scouts, experts and fans have long marked him out as a star of the future and the strongest draftee of the previous decade. Prior to the 2023 AFL Draft, media scrutiny on the youngster was intense with speculation about which team he would go to in overdrive and rumours circulating that he wanted to remain in Victoria. On 31 May, at the 2023 Draft, Reid was selected as the Number One pick by Western Australia’s West Coast Eagles.
Since then, media coverage has gone into a feverish overdrive: with more than 30 different back page stories written about him across the two main local papers – The West Australian and The Sunday Times. In fact, Perth’s The West Australian featured Reid on the back page 25 times – including 17 days in a row – before he had even played a game.
This has led to questions as to whether such media scrutiny was excessive and putting undue and unacceptable pressure on the youngster.
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Aim
As Reid’s new sportswear supplier, PUMA wanted to highlight its relationship in a unique and supportive way, while not adding any additional pressure on the 18-year-old ahead of his professional debut.
Activation
PUMA and agency Bursty’s idea was based on the insight that he had appeared on the back page of the paper nearly every day of his debut week and so the sportswear giant chose to echo this and amplify it by buying The Sunday Times’ entire back page on the day of his debut with a simple and supportive message: “A back page without the pressure, Good Luck Mate.”
The thinking was not only for the brand to champion its endorsement deal with the player amidst all the hype, but also to prevent the kind of speculative player-led article which would pile even more pressure on Reid immediately ahead of his first game.
The Sunday Times is a tabloid Sunday paper published by Perth-based Seven West Media and distributed throughout Western Australia. It was founded as The West Australian Sunday Times, renamed The Sunday Times in 1902 and has been owned since 1955 by News Limited (part of the News Corp Australia media conglomerate which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp).
The simple ad was supported by a 16 March video content piece posted across PUMA Australia’s social channels that showcased the hype and why PUMA had chosen to take over the back page.
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Outcome
The response to the ad among footy fans, sports lovers and marketers has been intense and interesting: the advert itself generated more than 100 news articles and it received extensive exposure on social media – the majority opinion in both spaces was positive for PUMA.
Among the national and local media outlets to covered the campaign were Fox Sports, News.com.au, Fox Footy, 7 News, 7 AFL’s Post Match Show, The Sunday Footy Show, Footy Classified, 3AW, SEN, Perth Now and no less than three news stories in rival The West Australian.
It was also widely shared by several former footballers, as well as media analysts and commentators: including Kane Cornes, Jason Dunstall, Tom Morris, Adrian Barich and Sam Edmund.
What the media said:
“Marketing genius from the team at PUMA.”
Saturday Scoop Channel 7
“Loved it.”
Footy Classified
“The page has gone viral, with rival news organisations picking up the story about the extraordinary measures to support their teenage star.”
The West Australian
“A unique act of support”
Fox Footy
What PUMA said:
“We loved seeing our ad being picked up and praised by the footy world but the main feedback we really enjoyed seeing was that from Harley, who showed his love for our post on social media, but also took the time to send our team a note of thanks. At PUMA, it’s not just about providing product to help our athletes perform on the field, but how we show up and support them off the field as well, and this is a great example of that.”
PUMA Marketing Manager Simon Hall
As for the youngster’s first game itself….despite Reid’s own bright start on debut – finishing his first match with 16 disposals and five clearances – on 17 March his West Coast Eagles lost their season opening game to Port Adelaide Power.
This simple and successful print ad shows that old school newspaper advertising is alive and kicking and can produce excellent results when smart tactics are applied.
It also raises and interesting debate about whether partner brands and their advertising can actually help protect players in their endorser stable and shield them from overly media scrutiny, or whether this kind of advertising merely adds to the hype.