Red Rooster has launched Crunch Time, a short-term blitz campaign featuring Sydney Roosters players Joseph Sua’ali’i, Sam Walker, and Sandon Smith.
Created by Leo Burnett, the campaign rolls out ahead of the Footy Finals season, spotlighting the chicken chain’s fried chicken and burgers with a 15-second hero spot and three six-second iterations.
“The TVCs highlight some tongue in cheek training sessions, putting the players (Smith, Sua’ali’i and Walker) through their paces in a dedicated and unusual challenge, testing how they resist the temptation to try our crunchy fried chicken,” said Red Rooster’s director of marketing, Ashley Hughes.
The campaign continues Red Roosters’ long-standing sponsorship of the Sydney Roosters (NRL), St Kilda FC (AFL), and Touch Football Australia.
Joseph Sua’ali’i
According to Hughes, the company was after “a fun way” to amplify its long-term sports sponsorships and partnerships.
“Reds has been a sponsor of the Roosters for years, but this is the first campaign we have created celebrating the partnership,” he said.
“The campaign centres around the idea that Roosters players know Final Season is crunch time and they need to focus, but Reds decides to introduce them to a new version of Crunch Time, tempting them to satisfy their chicken cravings and test how focussed they really are.”
The campaign is supported by a bespoke Crunch Time Box, featuring logos of all three major Red Rooster sports partners – Sydney Roosters, St Kilda FC, and Touch Football Australia – along with a gift-with-purchase: a free mini footy.
Launching from Wednesday 28 August, the campaign will run across FTA, social media, digital platforms, and in-restaurant.
Crunch Time follows the integrated creative effort by Leo Burnett for Red Rooster in May, where the chicken brand teamed up with Four’N Twenty pies for a limited edition chicken and gravy pie ahead of the AFL finals.
It also included special edition wearables available through the Red Rooster merch website.
See also: Red Rooster and Four’N Twenty launch collab via Leo Burnett
Credits
Client: Red Rooster
Ashley Hughes: Director of Marketing, Red Rooster
Jane Hillsdon: Marketing Manager, Red Rooster
Stephanie Gardner, Brand Manager, Red Rooster
Stella Katsaros: PR & Communications Manager, Red Rooster
Creative Agency: Leo Burnett
Chief Client Partner: Amanda Wheeler
Business Director: Dani Garabedian
Business Executive: Max Reiser
Creative Director: Marijke Spain
Creative Director: Michelle Walsh
Copywriter: Kevin Ma
Senior Designer: Dinah Pollard
PXP Senior Integrated Producer: Lauren Woods
Production Company: Taxi Film Production
Producer: Simone Mackie
Director: Joshua Logue
DOP: Jani Hakli
Food Stylist: Ben Masters
Offline Editor: Matt Bennett
Online: Chris Grocott @ White Chocolate
Sound Post: Daniel William @ Rumble Studios
Casting: Fountainhead Casting
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Top Image: Sandon Smith