Tourism Australia wanted to get British and Irish rugby fans over for the 2013 Lions Tour in Australia. But something was stopping the lads from booking tickets… their wives.

So we brought legendary coach Jim Telfer out of retirement and remade the most famous pep-talk in rugby history - his iconic ‘Everest’ pre-match speech. Only this time it was rewritten to inspire timid husbands, rather than rugby players.

Within the first week, with no paid media, we received worldwide coverage. And best of all, every single Lions Test Match ticket sold out in a record breaking 15 minutes.

Unlike other pieces of Tourism Australia communication, which need to appeal to a broad demographic, this project was aimed at a very specific age group; social group; income bracket and gender. The people we were trying to attract wouldn't come over for the beautiful beaches synonymous with Tourism Australia advertising. They were coming for a boisterous, rugby-focused lads' trip. This allowed us to speak to our audience in a very different way; a way that would only resonate with a very niche demographic. The fact that it wasn't the usual fare for the brand gave it even more cut-through.

The results.

With no paid media:

- we received 61 pieces of coverage around the world.

- achieved a global media reach of 162,996,583 people.

- got over 200,000 YouTube views from our target demographic.

- the content was retweeted in social media by former Lions player and rugby analyst, Will Greenwood ( 91,900 followers).

- all three 2013 Lions Test Matches in Australia sold out in a record-breaking 15 minutes.