AFL (Australia-rules Football) Is the NFL of Australia. It’s our biggest and most beloved sport. Colgate is the official sponsor of the league and activates it through the brand platform ‘Smile Strong.’ An organizing idea that’s all about overcoming adversity to become the best possible version of yourself.

‘Smile Strong’ debuted in 2020, showcasing stories from major league players to grassroots AFL community players, championing moments of adversity that had been conquered with sheer optimism to inspire and educate Australians.

For our 2022 AFL sponsorship campaign, we created ‘The Sound of a Smile’, a campaign which focused on inclusion and equality in sport. The film featured well-established QAFLW athlete Jamie Howell from the Brisbane’s Yeronga Devils. Like 12% of registered AFL players Jaime is hard of hearing - The campaign highlighted Jamie’s inspiring story as a deaf athlete and sought to champion diversity within the game.

There are few things in this world that are stronger in uniting sport fans than a team song. This couldn't be any truer when it comes to AFL, with the winners song blasted throughout the stadium after the final siren. It’s a special moment that bonds players, coaches and communities. But what about the 3.6 million Australians who are deaf or hearing impaired that can’t sing let alone hear? Our idea was to use influencers and social media to teach Australians all 18 AFL team songs in Auslan, the official sign language of Australia. Finally breaking down the sound barrier ensuring all fans can understand each other and celebrate together, no matter what.

So, what does Colgate have to do with sport? What does toothpaste have to do with deaf people? While most oral hygiene brands focus purely on the cosmetic smile. Colgate goes deeper to explore what goes into the making of a smile… What’s behind the smile? As champions of optimism and fierce backers of the underdog, Colgate understands there’s no smile more powerful or fulfilling than one that has overcome adversity.

We went to the only platform that is renowned for singing and sound - TikTok - taught AFL fans a new way to celebrate their team. Auscheer started with Jamie Howell translating each club song into Auslan, Australian sign language then combined those actions with cheering. We recruited athletes from the AFL and AFLW (the female league), through to hearing impaired and non-hearing impaired TikTok creators/fans asking all of Australia to duet with Jamie and give signing a go and bridge the gap between two fan communities.

We over delivered on engagements by 313%. People wanted to be involved.

·     People reached: 13M (more than half of the Australian population)

·     Impressions: 22M

·     Engagements on Video: 710K

·     Positive Sentiment: 99% (everyone wanted their team song to be signed)

·     #Colgatesmilestrong and #Colgate saw a major spike on TikTok as the campaign

went live

·     Influencer paid: 22M impressions, 70k completed views, 172k engagements

·     Influencer organic: 9.4M impressions, 471k 6-sec views, 179k engagements

- The AFL added closed captioning to all team songs in stadiums.

Brand Impact: The campaign contributed to a positive shift in Colgate brand perceptions, including a 10% lift for being inspiring. But most importantly, we saw a 17% lift in the perception that Colgate does the right thing by the community. We are becoming a brand that stands for optimism and drivers of change.