England, meet England in new O2 campaign

Long-time partner of England Rugby, O2, launches its most powerful women’s rugby campaign to date: England, meet England. 

Created by the brand’s long-standing creative agency of record VCCP, the bold and uplifting campaign is designed to boost support and awareness of the Red Roses, making them famous in the hearts and minds of the nation.

Despite being the most successful rugby team England has ever produced, a staggering 62% of Rugby Union fans still can’t name a single Red Rose. O2’s latest work aims to change that, shining a national spotlight on the World Number One team as they charge headfirst into a home World Cup, riding high on the momentum of a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam and the support of a growing fan base.

Academy Films and director Marcus Söderlund worked with VCCP’s global content studio Girl&Bear to create the hero film. Set to the soundtrack Weightless by Romy, the spot opens with the Red Roses in what looks like their changing room. In an unexpected twist, rather than getting ready for a game, we see them put on helmets before running and jumping out of the back of a plane, skydiving as a united team. We see the Roses in formation, forming a circle in the air, joining hands in a unified movement before releasing their parachutes and descending into a packed Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. They land and take their place, shoulder to shoulder, ready to take on their opponents. The film acts as a powerful metaphor for the team’s unstoppable rise: it’s a rallying cry for a team ready to claim their moment, calling on their country to get behind them.

The campaign reframes the Red Roses not just as elite athletes, but as national heroes, and is a key part of O2’s continued commitment to parity in rugby, marking the brand putting equal amounts into its sponsorship of both the men’s and women’s teams. The work also follows O2’s partnership with Women’s Sports Trust (WST), which aims to increase visibility of the Red Roses and help promote women’s rugby more broadly. Together with the RFU, O2 has played a pivotal role in closing the gender awareness gap that WST’s research highlighted, and elevating the Red Roses to unprecedented visibility, resulting in a 14% growth in awareness, 57% growth in social media followers, and a record-breaking women’s rugby crowd of 58,000 fans at the Women’s Guinness Six Nations 2023 Grand Slam decider.

England, meet England will roll out across TV, video on demand, online, out-of-home, PR, experiential and a social-first campaign that goes beyond match-day coverage to showcase the individual personalities and unique skills of the squad.

To shine a light on the characters behind the team, O2 have also teamed up with renowned hypeman and promoter, Chabuddy G (played by British Comedian, Asim Chaudhry), hiring him as the Red Roses new PR Manager. Created by O2’s sponsorship agency, MSQ Sport + Entertainment, the mockumentary social series, will bring out the players' personalities as they entertain the self-professed PR Guru, AKA Cha-rugby G’s crash course in questionable PR stunts, wacky celebrations, and tips for ‘going viral’.