Diversity over discrimination is the message from Insurance company AIG’s latest campaign starring members of the All Blacks and Black Ferns.
The ad, by Tokyo-based TBWAHakuhodo, was filmed at Panasonic Stadium Suita in Osaka and starts with the All Blacks/Black Ferns arriving the stadium with fans waiting outside. Shots are then shown of players putting on their playing jerseys, lacing their boots and preparing for a game.
As the ad plays, a voiceover speaks of the battle to be faced, not just by the players, but by the world, of discrimination.
The voiceover says: “They knock down every barrier, they overwhelm every foe no matter how powerful, through strength, through teamwork, through diversity. They fight as one but that one is made from everyone. Because the next battle is different, the next enemy is truly formidable and truly devious. It is discrimination, an enemy that cannot be fought alone, it must be defeated together. It will take more than 15, it will take thousands, millions. Now AIG has combined all the colours of the rainbow to create a united black.”
The two teams then run onto the pitch to cheers and waves from the crowd and raise their hand over their heart as if to sing the national anthem. They then pull back on their jersey to reveal a rainbow. Black Fern Carla Hohepa says ‘diversity is strength’ followed by All Black Jerome Kano who encourages the audience to ‘join our team’.
The idea for the campaign came from the creative team being inspired by the fact that mixing all the colours of the rainbow creates black.
A special dyeing technique was developed in which the fabric—that would normally appear black—reveals the full spectrum of a rainbow’s colours when stretched. Unfortunately, the jumpers were only created for the campaign and won’t be worn in competitions.
Matthew Walker, senior vice president and regional chief marketing officer at AIG Japan, says the recent campaign builds on the success of the ‘Tackle the risk’ ad from last year.
t“We really wanted to work with by TBWAHakuhodo and the All Blacks again to tackle the bigger social issues in Japan – starting with diversity,” says Walker. AIG is a sponsor of the All Blacks and Black Ferns.
“Our creative challenge to by TBWAHakuhodo was how do we combine AIG, the All Blacks/Black Ferns and diversity in a relevant and impactful way that reflected our common values and aspirations? From by TBWAHakuhodo initial organizing idea of ‘If you combine all colours of the rainbow, you get black’ through to their fabric innovation and film integration to achieve that promise, we knew it was a big idea.”
The ad comes in light of the recent comments by Wallabies player Israel Folau regarding homosexuality.
Walker says AIG promotes diversity and inclusion, both respecting and maximizing the broad range of experience that arises from differences in gender, nationality, sexual orientation, family structure, disabilities, and other dimensions.
“Promoting diversity and inclusion enables us to not only provide our staff with a better workplace but also to deepen our understanding of customers by using our broad-based perspective to bring active care to everyone. In this way, AIG is committed to making a real difference in the lives of our customers and in our society.”
