The Breakaway
Decathlon2021
The Breakaway is a 2021 experiential event (virtual sports team and live-streamed race) for Decathlon, created by BBDO Belgium, Brussels.
The line
The first eCycling team for prisoners.
Why it works
A prison cycling team that raced the outside world without leaving the prison. In spring 2021 Decathlon gave six inmates of the maximum-security prison in Oudenaarde, Belgium, bikes, indoor trainers and clothing so they could ride on Zwift, the online platform where some three million cyclists ride and race together. In the game they appeared as anonymous athletes rather than prisoners, joining rides with people outside; a podcast documented how it changed them, and a race streamed live on Facebook set them against a team of judges, lawyers, prison guards and Belgium's justice minister. It is studied because a retailer whose purpose is making sport accessible to all applied that promise in a setting most brands avoid, and used a lockdown-era gaming platform as a bridge back to society. According to the award entry, it reached more than 15 million people, and the minister decided to extend e-cycling to every Belgian prison. It won the Creative Strategy and PR Grands Prix at Cannes Lions 2022.
Techniques
- Purpose and cause Applies a retailer's promise to make sport accessible to all inside a maximum-security prison, giving inmates bikes and a bridge back to society.
- Storytelling Follows the prison team through a podcast documenting how riding changed them, building to a live race against judges, guards and the justice minister.
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