160 Years of AFL Lore: 72andSunny Tells Fans To 'Get In On It'

The pigeon bounce, scarves doing mainies, and legendary speccys. The AFL’s new brand platform has a very straightforward message as the 2025 premiership season gets underway: 'Get in on it'.

Developed in partnership with agency 72andSunny, production company Good Oil, and fronted by local Melbourne band Sleepazoid, the launch film for the AFL's new platform features a long list of AFL traditions, artefacts, and if-you-know-you-know moments. 

"The 'Get In On It' platform was devised to connect the AFL with a younger audience, who are already deep diving on their passions,” Wesley Hawes, chief creative officer at 72andSunny, told LBB.

“Every frame of the film has been expertly crafted to hold hundreds of AFL easter eggs, and as Nette France (our lead singer of Sleepazoid and AWARD School alumni) suggests, ‘Once you know a little, you'll want to know a lot.'”

Throughout the film, pieces of AFL folklore are referenced in quick succession, including locks of honour, umpires between the sticks, and "how we invited the Irish". Not quite sure what they all mean? That’s a good thing, with the campaign looking to send old fans and new down a rabbit hole to find out more about 160 years' worth of Aussie Rules culture.

And if you’ve come out of the rabbit hole knowing why Collingwood hates Carlton, but unsure what a mark is? That’s fine. As Nette says in the voiceover, “You’ll pick up the rules eventually, but that’s not the best bit. It’s the details, the plot, the arc, the culture.”

Good Oil’s Madeleine Purdy directed the launch film, and told LBB she ultimately wanted to bring the sport and its history to life in a “very out-of-category way”. 

​“If you aren’t into a certain sport, seeing footage of the game just makes you zone out. It was great to have permission to show AFL as it lives and breathes – as a vessel for belonging, self-expression, aesthetics and as a potent producer of lore and culture generally,” she said.

During the casting process, everyone involved shared their stories of AFL fandom and what the sport meant to them, plus insider knowledge and personal fan stories. As a result, every single person in the shoot was a genuine AFL fan, bringing all their team spirit to set with them.

“We wanted to be representative of the whole spectrum of AFL fandom, so the casting process was a real puzzle to fit everyone in. We got there in the end. We had fans of every single team in our cast, which meant there were a lot of fun little moments on set with people playing up their rivalries or allyship with fellow cast members they’d just met,” laughed Madeleine. 

​Officially launching this week, the ‘Get In On It’ campaign will go live across out-of-home, digital and social media channels, with the aim to grow the AFL’s fandom and build hype for the game as the 2025 season shifts into gear.

However, as Wesley said, the launch film is only one part of the platform. 

“Over the coming season, we're going to be engaging this new audience in pillars they are already into, and helping them get in the AFL fandom, folklore and canon that way too – whether that's perfecting the Bailey Smith mane or understanding why AFLW player Tayla Harris is such an icon. 

“Only the AFL can claim to be a national game with such a rich history. And now everyone, especially the younger generation, can be a part of it."