The creative concept ‘Where Heroes Meet’ was devised to showcase the epic scale of action that Six Nations rugby delivers. By elevating recognisable rugby players to superhero status we were able to highlight the sheer size, power and skills of these athletes.

Illustrated in the classic Marvel Comics style, giant rugby heroes adorned point-of-sale posters while larger than life cut-outs loomed over fans throughout outlets. Ambient displays were also created to look like players had literally come crashing through the wall. Customers were even given special nation-specific capes to help them get into the spirit of the occasion.

O’Neill’s attracted huge numbers for every game – even ones between footballing minnows such as South Korea and Togo which ordinarily would have been non-events. And because the campaign had a real international flavour, sales did not slow once England was knocked out. In fact O’Neill’s recorded an 8% increase in food and drink sales (a 33% increase on the original target). The email game boasted an astonishing 10% click through rate and the direct mail element earned a remarkable 9% redemption rate. The ROI was significant, achieved by driving both new and existing customers into outlets for the tournament’s duration.