The campaign, spearheaded and created by the Head of
Havas PR South Africa, Chris Verrijdt and designed by Havas Boondoggle South Africa, uses players from the rugby team in a series of shots with derogatory gay terms that question the perception of the kind of gay man the players are.
“From the outset we wanted to be disruptive, but we also had to be sensitive” says Verrijdt. “Some of the guys are still coming out, so they were involved in every step of the process to ensure they were comfortable with the final outcome.”
“I really need to applaud each and every one of them for their bravery as this campaign will definitley turn a few heads and is sure to start a conversation.”
And that conversation according to Verrijdt is “Why do we need a gay rugby team?”
This question is something that chairperson of the Jozi Cats, Teveshan Kuni is very conscious of, but ultimately feels the club is somewhere that players can play social and competitive rugby in a “safe and non-judgemental environment.”
“The truth of the matter is that many of our players don’t feel like they can be openly gay and be a rugby player in South Africa,” says Kuni. “So we started Jozi Cats as a space where they could be both.”
Kuni goes on to say the club caters for all levels of rugby experience with teams for touch, tag and full contact rugby disciplines.
When asked about the campaign, Kuni says it was very important to use actual players from the club. “Over-and-above everything else we wanted to show that these are just ordinary guys who love playing rugby and who happen to be gay.”
Click here to view behind the scenes.
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