FOX INTERNATIONAL | Regional Sports Campaign | 2001
Who could laugh at diving off a cliff with no water below? / FOX Sports Net "CHINA, INDIA, TURKEY, RUSSIA"
A diver leaps off a cliff, but there's no water where the surface should be, and he slams into the ground. An athlete tries to catch a huge falling tree with his bare hands and gets crushed by it. Two drunk guys trading real punches. Blindfolded men fighting with clubs. Four completely insane ads, made to look exactly like real sports broadcasts, won the Grand Prix at Cannes.
The problem
Fox Sports Net is a cable channel delivering regional sports news. Minor sports from some far-off region? Honestly, who cares. Who's going to get interested in a competition that might not even exist?
The insight
"You only care about your own region." That's what Cliff Freeman & Partners zeroed in on. No matter what happens somewhere in the world, if it doesn't involve you, the news is worthless to you. So why not flip that around: invent competitions so absurd they couldn't possibly be real, make them look completely authentic, and basically laugh in the viewer's face: "You don't need this, right?"
The idea
They made four spots set in Turkey, China, Russia, and India, each featuring a sport that doesn't actually exist. The commentary, the camera work, the crowd reactions — all built exactly like real broadcast footage. Directed by Traktor, produced by Partizan NY. The craftsmanship was so thorough that even an Ad Age critic admitted it looked "unbelievably real." The closing line: "Sports news from the only region you care about. Yours."
What happened
It won the Grand Prix in the Film category at Cannes Lions in 2001. In the final round it went head-to-head with Leo Burnett's John West "Bear" and won with two out of three votes. That said, Ad Age's Bob Garfield gave it a harsher review too, saying it was "so entertaining that the actual message gets lost."
Afterthought
I laughed so hard I cried, and then felt a little chill right after. "You only care about your own region" — ouch, that hits a little too close to home. Turning that into a sports-themed ad, delivered with this much bite — it's just brilliant.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2001
