Tailored by England
The England Football Association rights contract is the most expensive sport marketing team asset in the world. The attention of the nation and the wider football community is focused on each and every iteration, as it is loaded with intense political and cultural meaning for national and individual identity.
The England fan was changing much as the nation itself was changing. A former bastion of white male identity and communion, the fan base was reflective of the contemporary population and the modern England team: more diverse and inclusive. A challenge to the orthodoxy manifested resistance, but also an empowerment of the new generation through their pride in their Englishness.
Umbro, a heritage brand with rich storytelling at heart, had been founded by tailors who felt their skills with garment function and form would benefit the sportsman. Their earliest football kits changed the category of sportswear as technical knowledge and high aesthetics combined for the first time to serve performance on the field. Bringing alive the brand, the new England shirt was tailored on Saville Row, a traditional centre of English craft. Storytelling connected this heritage to the country’s modern diversity and inclusivity.
Central to the ambitious project to bring 102 English nationals born overseas (a representative of each nationality resident in England) together on Greenwich Hill. The resulting photo shoot was heavily advertised and socialized along with an online and National Geographic exhibit fully expanding the concept.
The multi-layered campaign was amplified by celebrations of Englishness and English culture. Showcased in multiple incarnations across different media, the things that define the English – the dogs, the tea, the funny faces. And of course, the footballers.
Over 28 million adults were hit with the key messages, 58% of the total population in just two weeks. Over 20,000 shirts were sold in the first 12 hours. The campaign won Best Launch at Cannes Lions and Campaign of the Year at the PR Week Awards..
