Situation: The Rugby World Cup was a chance to prove iPhone’s photographic potential to France.

Brief: Put iPhone on the French cultural stage.

Objectives: Reach; Video Completion Rate; Press Headlines; Social Mentions and Engagements.

Media Insight: Media placement followed growing French anticipation ahead of the tournament opener.

The fixture was France’s most anticipated: the two front-runners - Les Bleus and the All Blacks - going head-to-head in a game expected to be watched by a quarter of France.

Being hosts and favourites, Apple knew French tournament interest and excitement would run highest leading up to this match. And research had shown an elevated mood nationwide could lead to a more trusting and receptive audience: giving the campaign the best chance to be culturally embraced.

Rugby doesn’t get a mention when searching for the most iconic sports photography of all time.

Together with photographer Jacob Sutton, Apple created Rugby Shot on iPhone: the most iconic photography Rugby has never seen.

Sutton captured 6 of Les Bleus - including the world number one Antoine Dupont - playing their signatures moves: from scrum binds, to try line dives. Each shot in an iconic way on the iPhone 14 Pro.

The versatility of iPhone enabled Sutton to show the player’s form & function in unexpected ways, and bring a new perspective to Rugby.

Content included still photography, animations & film; individually captured for the media placements that would unveil them to France.

Media Strategy: Elevate France’s Moment: celebrating Rugby alongside France’s growing anticipation ahead of the World Cup.

The campaign had three phases, controlling media volume to match growing excitement (Appendix: fig.1):

Phase 1 - Iconic: A cultural statement: taking over France’s cultural institutions with head-turning medias.

Phase 2 - Local: Bringing the campaign to the sport’s heartlands: the Rugby hometowns in the South of France where Rugby surpasses Football in popularity (fig.2), and adjacent to pre-tournament coverage.

Phase 3 - Unmissable: A 2-day takeover of the internet before the tournament opener: in the moment audience size and anticipation was expected to be at its greatest based on past tournaments (fig 3).

Target Audience: Audience evolved by phase to follow growing interest in the tournament: Phase 1: Culture-vultures. Phase 2: Rugby Fans. Phase 3: All French Adults.

Rugby Shot on iPhone was a 6 week campaign leading to the Tournament opener on the 8th September.

Phase 1 - Iconic: Apple wrapped Le Louvre; the Paris Opéra; Place des Voges; and Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux: the takeover triggering national press headlines, social comments & copy cats.

Phase 2 - Local: Eye-level outdoor popped-up in Rugby-cities across the South of France. French owned and run publishers placed the campaign adjacent to early pre-tournament coverage online.

Phase 3 - Unmissable: In the 48hours before the opener, the campaign was everywhere. On the apple.com homepage; on Apple Music; @Apple on Instagram; the player’s social accounts; the French media; and placed on every social feed & digital platform via advertising. Combinations of channels chosen to reach 80% of France.

The moment the Rugby World Cup started and national anticipation turned to nervousness, the campaign went silent.

The campaign put iPhone on the French cultural stage.

It caught their attention with over 200million impressions delivered online and outdoors; reaching 80% of France. Video completion rates were 30% higher than any iPhone activity in the previous 18 months and followed growing tournament interest (fig 4).

It created national headlines (fig 5), including “French Rugby Players Take Over Paris Monuments” in GQ, Le Figaro, and Le Bonbon among others. It was labeled “a first for sportsmen who aren’t footballers to be celebrated in this way” by France’s biggest news channel, BFM TV. It made waves internationally, with Dupont’s poster on the Louvre mentioned on ITV & BBC in the World Cup coverage.

And it was embraced throughout French culture (fig 6): Elevating France’s moment on social media. Celebrated by the Rugby Federation. Legends beyond Rugby including international footballer Blaise Matuidi applauded it. It even produced copycats on social media.