Woolworths and M+C Saatchi have released a new TVC starring Alex Carey, the supermarket’s cricket ambassador.

The 30-second film, titled “Summer of Cricket”, takes viewers to a sun-drenched park hosting a classic summer gathering, complete with barbeque and a game of cricket.

Narrated like a match, the “Woolworths Park Test” sees Carey arrive with a salad before he dons a baggy green cap and takes a swing.

Alongside Carey, the film also features participants from Woolworths Cricket Blast,  a program developed to teach children about the sport.

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A Woolworths spokesperson told Mumbrella that the supermarket’s partnership with “Cricket Australia is fundamentally about celebrating the authentic spirit of the Aussie summer.

“This means fueling our athletes, from the grassroots to the national teams, with the best Australia-grown produce, meats, and bakery items.

“Our campaign centres the story squarely on the ritual of Australian summer food culture: from the sizzling BBQ proteins to the abundance of beautiful, fresh fruit and veg for salads and snacks.”

“We aren’t just sponsoring cricket; we’re providing the fresh fuel that powers the season, connecting our brand authentically to cricket from the home to the cricket pitch,” they added.

The TVC officially launched on November 21, and will run throughout the summer in 30, 15, 10 and 6-second formats. It is also airing on online video advertising channels.

Overall, the work is designed to highlight the supermarket’s commitment to the sport, having recently extended its partnership with Cricket Australia by three years in early October, and solidify a connection between its food and the summer energy of cricket.

Visually, the film does this by giving equal precedence to the cricketing elements and Woolworths’ food.

“We’re excited to partner with Alex Carey to celebrate this incredibly exciting summer of cricket. Not only is he an Aussie wicket-keeping legend, but he’s also a cricket dad to Louis and Clementine, who both play Woolworths Cricket Blast,” Woolworths’ head of community and sponsorships, Sarah De La Mare, said in a media release.

The cricket season officially kicked off on Friday with the season’s first Ashes Test taking place in Perth.

The event was a ratings boon for broadcaster Seven and Foxtel, which saw their Total TV audience jump by 60% year-on-year, and their sports streaming platform, Kayo, witnessed its “most streamed Test match ever”, respectively.

Credits

Woolworths

Michael Laxton Interim Chief Marketing Officer, Woolworths Group

Brid Drohan Stewart Fresh Marketing Director, Woolworths

Sarah De La Mare – Head of Community & Sponsorships Woolworths Group

Hayley Mein – Marketing Communications Manager Woolworths

Agency

Creative Agency: M+C Saatchi Group

Chief Creative Officer – Steve Coll / Emma Robbins

Executive Creative Director – Simon Parkin

Creative Director – Millicent Malcolm

Copy writer – John Lestuzzi

Art Director – Tameem Hassan

Senior TV Producer – Amanda Collins

Client Partner – Gemma Troup

Senior Account Director – Lewis Harvey

Production

Production company: Resolution

Director: Josh Logue

Executive Producer: Mitchell Carr

Producer: Richard Halsted

Editor: David Zandberg

Post production: Resolution Design

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