The Background:

Terrorism, bloodshed, wars, suicide bombs, stone-pelting and civil unrest. For more than 7 decades, KASHMIR has been the epicentre of an active territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. Making international headlines exclusively for violence and terrorism.

The Objective:

Adidas wanted to tell the untold story of Real Kashmir FC, a fledgling football club from the strife-torn region of Kashmir. A story of hope unlike any where a football club from Kashmir qualified against all odds for the first time in history, to play the premier Indian League with the giants of Indian football.

Insight:

Only when you shut your eyes to the known, you will see the unknown.

Idea:

adidas believes that sport has the power to change lives

So, we asked the world to shut their eyes to all the negativity in the media for once and see Kashmir through a true story of hope.

‘When you see Kashmir through the lens of football, you’ll see #TheRealKashmir’.

Execution:

Film-

We started with a film based on the true story of the club’s rise to the big leagues of India. Narrated by a blind, 80 year old Kashmiri football fan who has seen it all but doesn’t see Kashmir negatively like the world does. He feels the positive change in Kashmir with the rise of football. Through him, we gave the world a brand-new lens to see #TheRealKashmir. The lens of football.

The narrative was combined with a folk song that has inspired generations of Kashmiris over 200 years.

Newspaper Innovation-

For the mainstream media to bring positive stories to the front, we needed to change the age-old format of reporting. So first, we partnered with a leading Kashmiri newspaper, and changed the century-old format of the entire newspaper itself. Flipping the regular cover stories of conflict & pain, with the positive back page of sports. For the first time in history, Kashmir woke up to positive and inspiring stories of their local football club.

An open letter to join the positive change was sent to global media houses and personalities both online & offline.

Event-

Visually the media has shown Kashmir in a painful, violent, bloody and volatile frame. So we partnered with a leading street-photographer in India, Prashant Godbole, and introduced a new positive lens with which Kashmir is shot in photographs. The lens of football. Creating a story of hope, grassroot passions, and a strong belief in rewriting the future. Asking both the media and the people to open their eyes to the hopeful stories of change in Kashmir at an exhibition called The Real Kashmir.

Results:

42% rise in positive conversations about Kashmir on social platforms.

The club was invited as a special guest to the global ‘FOOTBALL FOR PEACE’ event under the high patronage of HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London

INR 20,000,000 donated by the Indian State Government to the club as assistance post the campaign

The club’s story makes ESPN INDIA’S LIST OF TOP 10 inspiring sports stories

#2 trending topic on twitter India for the first 3 hours

67,837 unpaid PR articles by 640 global news/media agencies

150,000+ shares - Most shared sports commercial of the year in India

400% increase in fan following on club’s twitter, facebook & Instagram handles

25M VIEWS : 85M IMPRESSIONS : $52M IN EARNED MEDIA