The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2020–2021
Rexona hides its logo under umpires' arms, revealed at pressure's peak
Industry-first BBL sponsorship: Rexona Clinical logos sat under umpires' arms, seen a billion times whenever a wicket, six or powerplay made them raise them
Unilever (Rexona) · Cricket Australia
What it had to solve
Rexona Clinical, Unilever's premium deodorant, needed to own Australia's summer sports conversation and prove it 'keeps you cool under pressure' without outspending rivals.
How it works
Rexona Clinical's whole selling point is composure — 'keeps you cool under pressure'. To prove it in Australia's summer, Clemenger BBDO Sydney stopped thinking about bigger screens and bought the one spot on a cricket field that is hidden until exactly the right moment: the umpire's underarm.
In an industry-first deal with Cricket Australia, the BBL 2020-21 season became the 'Year of the Pit'. Umpires' shirts carried the Rexona Clinical logo with its iconic tick in place, invisible on ordinary play — then flashed into every frame when the pressure peaked and an arm went up: a wicket, a six, a powerplay or power surge. Each signal was, in effect, a perfectly timed brand film about staying cool under pressure.
The sponsorship ran in the open, but the campaign around it amplified the joke: TVCs showed an office cricket umpire raising his arm to give the boss out — 'three times the protection for those high-pressure moments' — plus Channel 7 and Fox wicket-replay integrations, stadium activations and in-store displays.
The numbers were built into the sport itself: with BBL viewership topping 42 million, the logo was seen more than a billion times, and the mere announcement generated over 55 million global media impressions, from news to blogs to radio. It cost a fraction of a conventional summer sponsorship because the media was already there — the idea just decided when the logo would be seen.
Why it lands
- The logo is hidden until the emotional high point, so the brand message arrives already dressed in the drama of the moment — a wicket or a six — instead of interrupting it.
- The 'reveal' mechanic made the ad itself news: people watched for it, commentators talked about it, and other sporting codes asked to copy it, multiplying reach beyond paid media.
- It aimed precisely at the tension the product promises to solve — sweat and stress — so the placement and the promise were the same sentence, not two separate ones.
What it did
BBL viewership of 42 million put the logo on screen more than one billion times; the announcement alone drew over 55 million media impressions globally, and other sporting codes began copying the format.
What you can take
When the product promise is timing, put the ad where the moment happens: a logo no one sees 99% of the time, exposed only at peak emotional beats, out-performs constant visibility.
Since then
Rexona Clinical's BBL 2020-21 takeover took the Outdoor Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2022 and was recognized as a breakthrough-on-a-budget benchmark in the region's awards. Campaign Brief noted that other sporting codes were already looking to copy the underarm sponsorship format, extending the idea's shelf life beyond cricket. The pr halo — more than 55 million impressions from the announcement alone — became the campaign's real return on a modest media investment, and the 'cool under pressure' platform carried over into the brand's later sponsorship and broadcast work in Australia.
Sources
- Rexona Clinical's Unique 'Pitvertising' Won The Summer, Via Clemenger BBDO Sydney
- Rexona Clinical owned summer with 'Pitvertising' – the game changing BBL sponsorship via Clemenger BBDO Sydney
- Pitvertising — Outdoor Grand Prix winner 2022
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