Consumers across Australia and New Zealand can now celebrate the tireless efforts of sports volunteers in grassroots sport through a unique, first-of-its-kind online custom video AI campaign platform developed by Ogilvy for Cadbury.
The ground-breaking platform, which launched this week, is part of Cadbury's long-standing efforts to celebrate volunteers and the incredible contribution they make to grassroots sport through its 'Cheer & A Half' campaign. The latest edition incorporates an innovative, specially developed consumer-facing AI tool, allowing users to create unique, animated, personalised videos featuring volunteers they want to thank, which can then be shared on social media.
The campaign, which is expected to distribute thousands of videos, is supported by a digital media rollout developed by Wavemaker, with current and former Olympians and Paralympians from Australia and New Zealand using the tools to celebrate the volunteers in their lives and showcase the impact volunteering has had on their lives.
This includes various Cadbury ambassadors such as;
• Madison de Rosario (Paralympic wheelchair racer)
• Rob de Castella, former Olympian and world champion marathon runner
• Patty Mills (captain of the NBA Miami Heat and Australian national basketball team Boomers)
• Emma McKeown (Swimming)
• Molly Pickrum (World's Best Surfer)
• Nick White (Rugby – Wallabies)
Hilary Badger, executive creative director at Ogilvy Melbourne, said: “Cadbury Dairy Milk is a symbol of generosity and our volunteers are the ultimate embodiment of this. Our volunteers don't seek recognition, but without them local sport wouldn't exist. We know that most of our volunteers prefer small tokens of appreciation to big publicity, so we've made our volunteers the stars of their own videos, taking a very personal approach. The interesting paradox here is that a range of technology is used to celebrate something so small.”
Ben Wicks, vice president of marketing at Mondelez International, said: “This campaign is a chance to remind ourselves of how great we are as a sporting nation. Amazing feats on the playing field and inspiring moments of generosity from volunteers at all levels across all sports bring us together as a community. We're thrilled that through this new campaign and Gen AI's unique application, Australians and New Zealanders can show their appreciation for these moments of generosity in a very personal way.”
To create a personalised AI-generated video, consumers can visit giveacheertoavolunteer.cadbury.com.au/nz and upload a photo and a few unique details. Within 24 hours, they'll receive a short animated video in their inbox that they can post and share. Built in collaboration with T&DA, the platform uses a range of technologies in a human way to create heartfelt tributes to volunteers' invaluable contributions.
Combining interface builder ComfyUI and 3D content Unity, T&DA's platform transformed a complex AI process into a user-friendly, scalable solution on AWS. The platform enhances artists' sketches with 3D depth and lighting to produce fully rendered characters, and uses visual technology to map volunteers' facial features onto avatars to generate personalized profiles. This human-AI collaboration ensures that each video is comprehensive and personalized.
Tyrone Estefan, executive director of T&DA, said: “This is modern-day AI at its finest. The platform is an innovative blend of AI and human creativity, and we're proud to support Cadbury's campaign to celebrate heroes in our community.”
In the run up to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the campaign marks the continuation of Cadbury's ongoing support of both elite and community sport, having invested $50 million in Australian sport over the past decade.
The show is produced in collaboration with production partner Hogarth and currently airs across Australia and New Zealand on television, BVOD and social media.
Ogilvy Australia
Hogarth
Wave Maker
T&D
