Lowe trick for A-League in Brisbane: The Great Christmas Gift Wrapping Swindle

Tuesday 19, January 2010 at 10:39 AM by CB

Comments (12) | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Case study: In a bid to increase Boxing Day A-League football crowds, Lowe Sydney conjured a nasty prank on the people of Brisbane over Christmas. What appeared to be a free gift-wrapping service, and a gesture of goodwill, turned out to be a jab at the Brisbane Roar football team and their fans. Thousands of Brisvegans had their gifts wrapped with printed paper showing images of their players depicted as Christmas fairies and stuffed turkeys only to be told a few days later that they had been swindled, with all the blame being pointed at their neighbourhood rivals, Gold Coast United.

Being the local derby the two teams and their fans have an ongoing rivalry. The swindle was a fitting retaliation to an earlier Gold Coast team mascot prank, also conceived by Lowe Sydney.

The story was quickly picked up by the local media stations, fuelling a bitter online quarrel between fans before a history-making turnout filed into Skilled Stadium to see the Gold Coastians smash Brisbane, 5-1.

Client: Football Federation Australia
Agency: Lowe Sydney
Creative Director: Simon Cox
Copywriter: Nathan Lennon
Art Director: Dave Gibson
Producer: Jake Heath
DoP: Lee Mariano
Group Account Director: Nathan Quailey
Senior Account Manager: Guy Lovell
Client Lead: Pete Jarmain