The creative brief for the €180k marketing campaign with Ronan O’Gara to coincide with the Rugby World Cup in France instructed the rugby manager to make “no reference to alcohol”.
Instead, the marketing campaign aimed to gather anecdotes about rugby, what makes Ireland unique, and Ronan O’Gara’s favourite landscapes, Cork and the Wild Atlantic Way, and promote Kinsale and Cork as holiday destinations, encouraging French tourists to travel there during the off-season months.
Specific scenes were requested, such as O’Gara jumping in the sea in Kinsale, kicking a rugby ball at Charles Fort, enjoying Irish cuisine, and highlighting direct access to Cork and Ireland’s proximity to France.
Tourism Ireland wanted the campaign’s tone to be “natural, approachable, and honest,” with a humorous and wry thread. They desired an “authentic and dynamic testimony” from O’Gara, including personal views on the destination.
The campaign video was watched 3.8m times to date.
