England sponsors O2 have released a new animated advert to drum up support from supporters, along with a social media campaign.
The 2 minute video, which you can watch below, shows Chris Robshaw, Mike Brown and Courtney Lawes striding across England as the nation cheers them on to glory.
The animated feature begins with flanker Robshaw struggling to get into his car while Harlequins No 15 Brown towers of his fellow commuters on the Tube. Lawes, meanwhile, undergoes an unexpected growth spurt while walking in the park.
Inspired by the likes of the BFG the animated film shows the players transitioning from unloved outcasts to colossuses roared on by an expectant nation.
VCCP was behind the campaign, which is called “make them giants”, and used Blinkink – the production company that made “The Bear and the Hare” Christmas ad for John Lewis – for the animation.
At a press screening of the ad on 7 September Nina Bibby, O2’s marketing and consumer director, and Michael Sugden, VCCP’s chief executive, said they chose to animate the players to engage people that were not hard-core rugby fans and England supporters.
The end of the YouTube ad invites viewers to create their own England Rugby avatar to use on their social media channels, along with a hashtag #WearTheRose.
The film will be backed by print, outdoor and digital executions.
O2 has also created shorter animated clips to respond to specific moments in matches, and to keep up public support.
The adverts have already launched on YouTube, and will premiere on British TV screens tonight (Friday 11th September) and will be shown across all cinemas this coming weekend.
England begin their World Cup campaign against Fiji at Twickenham on September 18 in the tournament start.