6,500 ideas submitted in ANZ’s ‘Welcome the World’ Rugby World Cup campaign via DDB

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Screen shot 2011-09-12 at 5.41.49 PM.jpgNew Zealanders from all over the country submitted nearly 6,500 ideas in just over six weeks in DDB New Zealand’s groundbreaking ‘Welcome the World’ campaign for Rugby World Cup 2011 worldwide partner ANZ.

 

The five finalists were revealed on welcometheworld.co.nz and each launched their own social media campaign to garner support from friends, family and fans to have their idea brought to life during the Rugby World Cup 2011 in September.

Screen shot 2011-09-12 at 5.49.35 PM.jpgOver 22,000 Kiwis cast their vote and the winner was Pulusea Seumanu, a head teacher for the Auckland Kindergarten Association and early childhood teacher. Pulusea was inspired by the idea of bringing together hundreds of volunteers to create a 30-second welcome message that’s the length of a rugby field. He calls it ‘The Human Animation’.

 

It was to be an undertaking of gigantic proportions with a cast of thousands, a production team of 99 people, 3256 man hours and one helicopter.

 

The concept involved 600 kids from St Kentigern College and Onehunga High School. Using crowd direction specialists, choreographers and designers a breath-taking welcome the world message was created.

 

The event day started at 5am and required 6 buses to move the 600 students from their schools to Mt Smart Stadium.

 

With the final result of months of preparation and hard work aired on national television last Friday night, Pulusea said things had gone better than even he had dared imagine.

 

“Everyone involved put in 100% and it has paid off. It’s great to see Kiwis pull together to create an epic welcome to our country.

 

“Sometimes you reach for the stars and you just hit the lamppost. But this time me and all the helpers and children involved reached the stars,” says Pulusea.

 

DDB Creative Director Experiential Steve Kane is one of the three judges and was tasked with evaluating each of the 6,482 entries and executing Pulusea Seumanu’s winning concept.

 

“Suffice to say we were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of entries and the level of engagement in the campaign. The level of creativity displayed by people of all ages and from all walks of life meant it was no easy task narrowing down to just five finalists, but I’m confident that our top pick has made a truly stellar welcome for our overseas visitors.”