Ahead of the 2023 Australian Open, rights holder and national governing body Tennis Australia teamed up with the ATP and the WTA to host and promote the inaugural United Cup – a world-first mixed tennis tournament – through an integrated campaign titled ‘See The Game’.
The tournament saw many of the biggest names from men’s and women’s tennis compete for the country (18 nations participated) and play together for equal ranking points and equal money. It was the event’s focus on tennis ‘equality’ inspired the focus of the campaign.
The campaign was created in harness with agency Sunday Gravy and the joint Tennis Australia and agency team developed a multi-channel platform titled ‘See the Game’ which encouraged fans to see past gender and see the game as it should be played.
The creative idea saw players removed from imagery leaving a focus on limbs racquets, balls and courts to enable viewers to focus on the game of tennis without the bias of thinking about men, women or big stars.
The campaign was spearheaded by a hero launch film which was supported by OOH, digital and social content, as well as PR and in-tournament action-linked content.
The campaign saw the client and agency work with LA based director Scottie Cameron, with production handled by Go Atticus, post production from The Mill and media run through PHD.
United Cup I 30" Spot from Sunday Gravy on Vimeo.
Other tournament promotional assets ranged from a ‘making of the trophy’ video, to spots featuring teams exploring the local venues, plus a ‘Ready Set Tennis’ opening spot.
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Many of the biggest players gathered to play and support the tournament which ran between 29 December and 8 January – including big names such as Rafel Nadal, Maria Sakkari, Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula – as the tennis world sought to reinforce its status as one of the most progressive and gender equal sports in the world.
Indeed, the idea behind the new format in the United Cup was to ‘help people see past gender, with the best players united to smash barriers, playing side by side on an equal playing field’. Something that was, perhaps, previously largely reserved for the Olympic Games.
The new tournament finished a week before the start of the Australian Open 2023 – the first tennis Grand Slam of the year – held at Melbourne Park from 16 January to 29 January. This year’s AO promotional campaign was spearheaded by a hero spot called ‘The Story Starts Here’ which featured Rafael Nadal and debuted back on 12 October 2022.
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