Bonded by Blood
adidas (All Blacks)2006
Bonded by Blood is a 2006 limited-edition poster promotion for adidas, created by TBWA\Whybin, Auckland.
Why it works
Every year adidas issued a commemorative All Blacks team poster. In June 2006 it made one that literally contained the team. Each of the roughly 40 players gave blood, which was sterilised and added to the printing of a limited run of 8,000 posters showing the squad performing the haka in a Fiordland forest. Fans could get one only by buying an All Blacks jersey, and each came with a numbered certificate; a making-of film of players giving blood played in stores and online. It is studied as a vivid, slightly macabre way to make a sponsor's merchandise feel like a relic: the poster turned the idea of fans and players sharing one bloodline into a physical object. Trade reports of the case said posters were reselling online for about US$400 and that All Blacks apparel sales rose 24%. It won the Promo Grand Prix at Cannes in 2007.
Techniques
- Transfer Lets fans own a piece of their heroes, so buying a jersey earns a relic that makes them and the players one bloodline.
- Shock and provocation Grabs attention with a slightly macabre premise: each poster is printed with the squad's own sterilised blood.
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