Our rundown of the best ads for the Rugby World Cup 2015

Sports fans rejoice! The Rugby World Cup 2015 kicks off this Friday and sees England ruck it out with Fiji at Twickenham for the first match of the tournament. Of course with big sport events comes big advertising, and we’ve collected together some of the best ads out there so far. So before you fill up your plastic cup with beer and start chanting explicit songs with your compadres in the stadium, the pub or your living room, check out these bad boys.

Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO: Guiness, Never Alone

While we know playing rugby takes physical strength, Guinness (the official beer partner of the English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish national teams) has focused on the inner qualities needed to be a great player like courage and resilience through a series of short films. This particular ad featuring Gareth Thomas sees him poignantly speak about coming out as gay to his teammates. Beautifully shot with pull-at-your-heartstrings piano music played alongside Gareth’s words, it’s a subtly powerful campaign.

Grey London: Lucozade Sport, Strictly for the Home Nations Only

Taking a more lighthearted approach, Lucozade’s ad sees international rugby players from around the world pretending to be players from the home nations. Wearing garish rubber masks to fool innocent shopkeepers, they almost get away with it until the genuine players catch up with them in their getaway car. While it’s not confirmed that Lucozade is actually the secret weapon of the home nations, it’s a convincing attempt.

VCCP: O2, We Make Them Giants

Sponsor of England Rugby O2 has released this film-like ad ahead of the World Cup. As the only animated ad this year the idea is simple, the support of their fans makes the England rugby team grow into glorified giants that ultimately scare the opposition away. Traditional hand-drawn animation is enhanced by modern CG techniques from the guys at Blinkink and it’s full of lovely details. While it’s a bit cheesy (and terrifying to think of rugby players that ginormous), it’s a sentimental nod to how important the fans are when it comes to rugby.

RKCR/Y&R: Land Rover, We Deal in Real

Another official sponsor of the Rugby World Cup is Land Rover and their advert celebrating grassroots rugby is a lovely reminder of where every player started. The ad shows snippets of both men’s rugby and women’s rugby, as well as the mud, sweat and injuries rugby players all go through. We Deal in Real avoids glamorising the sport and celebrates it for what it is.

BBH: International Rugby Board, Team Talk

This ad was actually released last year in the run up to the tournament by the International Rugby Board (IRB) but as it features British actor Charles Dance, if felt wrong to ignore it. His dulcet tones echo through the changing room as he delivers a rousing pep talk to not just the players, but the refs, the gardeners, the food vendors, the fans and everyone who is a part of the World Cup. Charles’ excellent delivery is hard to resist and with phrases like “raise the roof” and “cook that hotdog on both sides”, the ad is just as effective now at getting you pumped up for the tournament as it was when it was first released.

BBH Sport: International Rugby Board, Kick it like Wilko

Another spot from last year by IRB, but this one had to be included for its simplicity. We see who we think is Jonny Wilkinson practicing his place-kicking in a floodlit, empty stadium. But when he goes for the kick he trips over and is revealed to be a lookalike. Created to encourage fans to only buy official tickets for the Rugby World Cup, the ad cleverly ends with the strapline, “It’s not always clear to spot a fake.”