2020 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Challenges and Goals:

In 2019, the Ontario government enacted Rowan’s Law, a concussion protocol named after Rowan Stringer, a teenage rugby player who passed away after multiple concussions. Awareness of concussion symptoms are low, so the Ontario government needed to launch a campaign that would change the perceptions of coaches, parents and athletes.

Our culture tells athletes that you have to win at all costs. It’s seen in movies and TV, especially sports marketing with slogans like “Risk it all”, “Whatever it takes” and “All-in”. But one in five high school athletes suffers a concussion every year, and inconsistent resources for how to handle concussions have left a dangerous gap that needed to be addressed. The goal was to change perceptions amongst a culture with a risk-it-all mentality, and demonstrate what the signs of concussion were.

Insights and Strategy

The Government of Ontario decided to create its own sports marketing campaign, one that took on existing conventions by showing the dangers of pushing too hard after a concussion.

The spot, titled “The Risk,” follows a young soccer athlete throughout her matches and training, each scene reminiscent of a big sports brand look and feel. She pushes past limits and injuries, but all is not as it seems. The seemingly triumphant ending is bluntly halted by her collapsing, with the statements “Don’t risk everything” and “Know the signs of a concussion” appearing.

The goal was to evoke the same emotions as other sports marketing films — you root for her and you’re happy when she gets up. All this compounds into the emotions felt when she eventually collapses, leaving the viewers to contemplate how they view sports marketing. We choreographed each impact to reflect a sign of concussion, including impaired hearing, blurred vision, dizziness and ringing in the ears, which were emulated by visual and sound effects.

Execution

Just like sports brands, this campaign needed a brand icon — one that could get players to sit out after an impact. The design was a stop sign, divided to represent the two sides of the human brain. The government left its mark all over arenas, uniforms and apparel. The design system was used to create a series of symbols representing concussion symptoms, which were distributed via brochures and posters to schools and athletic centers across the province.

The film ran in cinema, broadcast and social. For the sports celebrity endorsement, the government tapped an athlete whose career was cut short by concussions, hockey legend Eric Lindros. He was featured on broadcast, radio and sports news including ESPN, Sportsnet and USA Today.

The coverage gained more than 27 million impressions in just the first week of the campaign. High-profile athletes and announcers tweeted about the campaign, including Ron MacLean, Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Nick Kypreos.

Results

The government’s custom icon became the symbol for concussion safety, as school boards and leagues reached out to adopt the logo. In the days following the launch, “Rowan’s Law” became the number-one searched term on Google Canada, and in 2020, Rowan’s Law will become mandatory for all amateur sports across the province.

Credits

Executive Creative Directors: Ian Grais, Chris Staples
Creative Director: Christina Yu, Mike Dubrick, Aaron Starkman
Production: Shelby Spigelman, Heather Blom
Art Director: Zachary Bautista
Writer: Andrew Chhour
Designer: Jake Lim
Strategist: Sean McDonald, Zach Simbrow
Production Company: Scouts Honour
Director: Mike Zibert
Director of Photography: Mark Zibert
Line Producer: Rita Popielak
Casting: Jigsaw Casting Ltd.
Casting Director: Shasta Lutz
Offline Post Production House: Married to Giants
Editor: Graham Chisholm
Assistant Editor: Shauna Dowie
On-Line: The Vanity, Sean Cochrane
Grading: Alter Ego, Wade Odlum
Audio House: Grayson Matthews
Executive Producer:Kelly McCluskey
Account Services: Sarah Riedlinger, Megan Christopher