McDonald’s, Toyota, Chemist Warehouse, Telstra, and Movember are among the brands with the biggest presence at this weekend’s AFL’s Gather Round in Adelaide, the second annual ‘festival of footy‘.
McDonald’s, which first partnered with the AFL in 2014 and extended its deal for a further 10 years from 2022, had its Fry-Thru on display, created by Akcelo in 2023 for the Women’s World Cup. A giant version of the Golden Arches acted as a swing, and Macca’s tents handing out collectible player cards had an hour-long queue.
The Golden Arches as a swingset
Telstra’s Footy Country Print Press allowed fans to have their guernseys printed with a name or nickname, building on The Monkeys’ acclaimed This is Footy Country campaign which launched for the brand last year, before CMO Brent Smart appointed bespoke model +61 – made up of TBWA, Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, and OMD – to the biggest combined advertising account in the country.
The Footy Country Printing Press
Yesterday, Telstra also announced its first Footy Country Grants Program funding will roll out, with $1m to go to more than 250 local AFL clubs.
At Macca’s Footy Festival at Elder Park, there was also the Chemist Warehouse Fan House, a giant bottle of Solo filled with footies as free cans were handed out, an oversized ‘Oh What a Feeling’ sign from Toyota, and a Movember pop up called ‘Talk More, Play Better’ in partnership with Coles, encouraging players, parents, coaches, umpires, and volunteers to prioritise their mental health.
Chemist Warehouse’s pop up
The Movember pop up
Adelaide’s Rundle Mall shopping strip – which experienced a 16% surge in foot traffic during last year’s inaugural Gather Round – is also home to activations, including a giant Sherwin footy.
Gather Round kicked off last night at Adelaide Oval with a match up between home team the Adelaide Crows and the Melbourne Demons. The Dees prevailed 78-63.
Gather Round is the latest sporting event pumping money into cities around Australia. Last month, F1 fans and media descended on Melbourne for The Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, with a record 452,000 attendees across four days watching the practice rounds, qualifying, and race, plus enjoying the brand activations and food and drink scene. Next month, Brisbane will get its turn with the NRL’s Magic Round.