Marriott Hotels Celebrates Hong Kong Sevens in Campaign with Rugby Legend Sébastian Chabal

Ogilvy & Mather (Ogilvy) has launched a new campaign for flagship brand Marriott Hotels to celebrate Hong Kong’s biggest sporting event.

This would be the third year of sponsorship by Marriott International as the Official Sponsor of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Sevens (April 6 – 8) and Hong Kong Sevens Festival, the city’s biggest sporting event and one of the flagship tournaments on the international Sevens calendar.

The campaign named ‘Stay Brilliant’, launched on social media with ‘Bonjour.’ This film takes place in a Marriott Hotel guestroom, where rugby legend, Sébastian Chabal has a comedic entrance whilst test piloting a new innovation created just for Sevens fans – a tongue-and-cheek new wake-up program (aptly named ‘Bonjour’). The Ogilvy and Marriott team flew to London to shoot with the rugby legend, and shot on location at their famous London Marriott Hotel Regents Park.

“We chose Sébastien because of his continued passion for the game of rugby, even after his retirement. During his playing years, his ability to maneuver creatively around the pitch and inspire fans is perfectly aligned with the Marriott Hotels ethos of innovation, creativity, dynamism, and inventiveness. We love the work, and we’ve very much enjoyed working with the whole client team during this process.” said Reed Collins, Chief Creative Officer - Ogilvy Hong Kong.

Post the hero film launch, two teaser videos followed quickly thereafter providing tips for fans to stay brilliant throughout the event.  These films leverage retargeting data to ensure they are reaching our very innovative and creative target audience throughout their online journey.

“The flagship of the Marriott International portfolio, Marriott Hotels, is a brand known for innovation. We’ve tapped international rugby star Sébastian Chabal for our ‘Stay Brilliant’ video campaign to showcase our brand promises in an uplifting and humorous way. When guests check into a Marriott Hotel, they’ll be invited to join our best-in-class Marriott Rewards loyalty program and have access to exclusive experiences.” said Mike Fulkerson, Vice President, Brand and Marketing Asia Pacific at Marriott International.

As a final surprise and delight, Marriott Hotels will be unveiling their pièce de résistance in stadium this year; a film featuring Sébastien Chabal in his own - and very unique - rendition of DJ ötzi’s classic hit ‘Hey Baby’.

“Ogilvy has been a dedicated partner and we are very pleased with the outcome of this work.” Added Fulkerson.