Since the inception of the tournament in 1995, Heineken® has aimed to consistently bring magic to Europe’s premier rugby competition. For 2024, Heineken® 0.0 announced a new collaboration; an exclusive drop of Simon Zebo x Barbara Bennett trainers.
This Simon Zebo x Barbara Bennett collaboration celebrates Heineken’s role as a premium partner of the Investec Champions Cup 2024 and forms part of Heineken’s wider strategy and commitment to continue to bring ‘Good Times’ to Irish pubs nationwide during the Investec Champions Cup. The limited edition kicks feature Simon Zebo’s famous on pitch, celebratory ‘Z’ hand symbol and his Z15 jersey number, complete with splashes of Heineken’s iconic colourways. The Drop Kicks are available in trade locations across Ireland and on Heineken®’s social media - for a limited time only.
The collaboration and campaign was created by THINKHOUSE and is being delivered through creative, social, PR and event activations throughout the championship.
Munster star Simon Zebo collaborated with Irish designer Barbara Bennett (a rising star in Irish street-fashion) to finesse the design of his limited edition trainers. In the first phase of the campaign Heineken® 0.0 brought the good times to trade partner venues (Searsons, Slatterys and The Merry Cobbler) on match day, giving punters the chance to win a pair of these exclusive limited edition ‘kicks’ with surprise and delight appearances by Simon Zebo; bringing ‘good times’ to some of Ireland’s most exciting in-pub match day experiences. The campaign has already seen an earned media and social reach of 5 million.
The next phase will see the partnership land in Cork pubs with more match day ‘good times’ planned with surprise activations and more Drop Kicks for some lucky punters.
Heineken® Marketing Manager Mark Noble said: The atmosphere in pubs on match day is unbeatable. We wanted to elevate that for the Investec Champions Cup this year while supporting our important trade partners. The Simon Zebo and Barbara Bennett collaboration was something new and fresh to celebrate the tournament and bring something different to the pubs on match day. Heineken 0.0® is a match day favourite, personalised trainers are cultural currency and Zebo is so stylish - it pretty much was an idea that had to happen!”
THINKHOUSE Head of Creative, Dave Byrne added: “We wanted to channel Simon’s brilliant, natural creative flair and were excited to invite Barbara to bring his vision to life. This crossover approach (sport X culture X fashion) is what I believe marketing should be. Remix things, try something new and reward fans with something completely unique. In less than a week, the Heineken® 0.0 Drop Kicks generated over 5 million earned media and social impressions, demonstrating the power of culture-led marketing.”
Munster star Simon Zebo said: “I’d been chatting with Heineken® 0.0 for months about a trainer collab, so I was delighted when the right time came. Teaming up with Barbara made perfect sense, she understood exactly what I wanted from the get go and really brought my vision to life. It’s been a hectic few weeks training with the lads during the day only to come home and get stuck into designing with Barbara, but I’ve loved every minute!”
Irish designer Barbara Bennett said: “Zeebs is known for his slick trainers and sense of style so I was buzzing to team up with him for this one. I used my signature hand painted technique with Heineken® 0.0 colourways, incorporating personal touches from Simon like his on pitch ‘Z’ hand symbol and of course his Z15 jersey number.”
Limited editions of the unique ‘Drop Kicks’ will be available at Heineken® 0.0 competitions across pubs and social competitions on @HeinekenIreland.
