Aliir Aliir, Richmond, Bankstown Bullsharks - AFL | Clapboard Ad Archive

The AFL campaign Aliir Aliir, Richmond, Bankstown Bullsharks, created by BBDO and launched in Australia in 2018, leverages the power of storytelling to embody the league’s core values of leadership, resilience, and multicultural inclusion through three compelling short films. This campaign unfolds through the lens of three distinct yet interconnected narratives: Damien Hardwick’s leadership in guiding the Richmond Tigers to the 2017 Toyota AFL Premiership, Aliir Aliir’s remarkable journey from a Kenyan refugee camp to becoming an AFL player, and the vibrant multicultural identity of Dema and her teammates from the Bankstown Bull Sharks, a teenage girls’ football team in Western Sydney. Together, these stories articulate the transformational role of Australian Rules Football as more than a sport, positioning the AFL as a platform for personal growth, community integration, and social aspiration. The campaign’s brand platform, Don’t Believe in Never, serves as a rallying cry against limitations, underscoring the league’s commitment to diversity and opportunity. By situating the product—the AFL itself—as a vital agent in these stories, the campaign fits within Clapboard’s FORMAT#5 EXEMPLARY STORY classification, where the narrative arcs hinge on the sport’s pivotal role in each protagonist’s journey and resolution. The inclusion of a film teaching how to make a healthy smoothie in English further ties into the campaign’s holistic message of wellbeing and accessibility, reinforcing the AFL’s community-oriented positioning within the Recreation and Leisure category. BBDO’s execution balances emotional depth with cultural relevance, showcasing the AFL’s reach beyond the professional arena into grassroots and multicultural contexts, a strategic move that reflects the evolving demographics of Australia’s sports audience. Clapboard rates this campaign 63/100 in its global creative archive. This campaign matters to the industry because it demonstrates how sports brands can authentically engage diverse communities by embedding inclusivity and leadership into narrative frameworks that elevate the product’s societal impact.