TNT SPORTS LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN TO KICK OFF THE NEW FOOTBALL SEASON: THIS IS NOT NORMAL

Featuring Cole Palmer, Bruno Fernandes, John McGinn, Gareth Bale, Harry Redknapp, Paul Gascoigne, Karen Carney, Kim Little, Jay-Jay Okocha, Yannick Bolasie, Morten Gamst Pedersen, Rory Delap, Peter Crouch and Jordan Cullinane-Liburd, the light-hearted 60-second advert highlights the breadth of football competitions all in one place, TNT Sports – including 52 Premier League matches; 529 matches from UEFA’s club competitions across the season; as well as the most extensive coverage of the Emirates FA Cup and Adobe Women’s FA Cup both for the first time.

The “This is Not Normal” campaign, which was devised and created by Brothers and Sisters, sees football meet culture with a series of scenes celebrating the extraordinary and some of football’s iconic players and moments, including:

• Chelsea’s Cole Palmer wearing a blindfold with the voice-over indicating “this guy’s vision - not normal”
• Scenes of Crystal Palace fans celebrating their team’s FA Cup victory, looking ahead to a season of European football – “Tuesdays and Wednesdays aren’t normal… Thursdays? They’re wild too”
• Former Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale on a golf course preceded by a clip of his classic overhead kick in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final – “On the biggest stage ain’t normal”
• A look back in time with a Rory Delap’s long throw met in the air by former team-mate Peter Crouch – “His throws weren’t normal”
• Reminiscing over Tamworth’s famous FA Cup third round tie with Premier League giants Tottenham last season with Tamworth’s Jordan Cullinane-Liburd, an IT software manager by trade, sitting at his desk – Karen Carney boldly declaring “That’s Not Normal”
• Aston Villa captain John McGinn mocking talk of the ‘traditional big six’ whilst wearing a vintage club shirt – “Who you calling untraditional?”
• Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes does anything but normal, who can be seen cutting out the word ‘normal’ of countless dictionaries and books - “Normal can sling its hook”
• Manchester City’s multiple title-winning coach Pep Guardiola “not normal tactics” jokingly called into question by Harry Redknapp asking: “What’s wrong with 4-4-2?”
• Arsenal Women’s captain Kim Little “obsessed” with training to be the best.
• Premier League cult heroes of the 2000s and 2010s Jay-Jay Okocha, Yannick Bolasie and Morten Gamst Pedersen showing off their repertoire of skills – “Streets won’t forget not normal”
• The iconic Paul Gascoigne calming down an over-excited fan celebrating Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph – “That’s not normal, mate”

Becky Diver Phillips, VP Marketing, said: “Nothing about the extraordinary line-up of football this season on TNT Sports is normal. If you want to watch the best domestic league in the world, best club tournaments in European football and, for the first time – the biggest domestic cup competitions in the world, TNT Sports is the channel for you.

“With TNT Sports showing well over 700 live matches this season and eight trophies which will be won live on TNT Sports, it was only right that we celebrated this feast of football by enlisting some of the sport’s biggest stars and cult heroes to celebrate the extraordinary which makes the game truly beautiful.”

Andy Fowler, ECD and Founder of Brothers and Sisters who created the campaign said: “The sheer quality of football rights TNT Sports has is not normal - in fact it’s unmatched. If you want to watch the very best players in Europe, in the Premier League and now the FA Cup, you can in one place: TNT Sports. The whole idea of “Not Normal” came out of us realising there is a really unique space to talk about the brand vs competitors, and a creative platform that could be a lot of fun and really talk to fans.”

The “This is Not Normal” TV ad will air first on Tuesday (22 July) during live coverage of England’s UEFA European Women’s Championship semi-final clash with Italy. The full campaign will then be rolled out across all platforms from Friday (25 July) on television, radio and digital platforms with regional variations of the “This is Not Normal” out-of-home campaign featuring in major cities up and down the country.

Campaign credits:
Media strategy and buying: PHD.
Video and static assets (print and digital): Brothers and Sisters
Artwork: Creative Players.
Radio, digital audio and video assets: Brothers and Sisters
Video production: The Quarry
Sound design/mixing and audio recording: 750 MPH.