Super Bowl? What Super Bowl? Rugby Six Nations Kicks Off with Gritty Staring Contest

Ahead of the 2020 Six Nations Rugby Championship kicking off, BBC Creative’s latest campaign is sure to whet the appetites of all home nation fans.

To promote the Six Nations coverage across the BBC, the campaign titled ‘Who Blinks First?’ is designed to illustrate the high-pressure stakes and razor-thin margins that define each and every match of the Six Nations.

The campaign features portraits of several stars of the tournament staring down the camera, including all six team captains: Owen Farrell (England), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), Johnny Sexton (Ireland), Stuart Hogg – (Scotland), Luca Bigi (Italy) and Charles Ollivon (France).

Other big-name stars including Stuart McInally, Jamie Ritchie and Rory Hutchinson (Scotland), Dan Biggar (Wales) and Lewis Ludlam (England) also appear.

A tailor-made film has been made for each of the four home nations, with more films to be released as the tournament progresses.

The campaign is designed to capture the competition’s unpredictable nature and to stir national pride across the four home nations.

The films were shot by Alex Telfer, on location at sites such as Murrayfield in Edinburgh, and Northampton Saints. Along with the TV launch, the campaign will also run on digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) platforms across the BBC, social media and radio.

James Cross, Creative Director at BBC Creative said: "We wanted to make films that grab the audience’s attention and someone staring you down certainly does that. That, coupled with rousing renditions of rugby crowds singing their hearts out we hope will inspire support for each nation as well as capturing the excitement of the Championship  in a way that’s never been done before."

The BBC’s Six Nations coverage kicks off at 1.40pm on BBC One this Saturday 1st February for the opening game, Wales v Italy.

An additional 7 men’s games will be broadcast live on BBC One or BBC Two throughout the tournament, including Scotland v England on Saturday 8th February and final day games Wales v Scotland and France v Ireland. The Women’s Six Nations Championship also returns with selected games available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport’s digital platforms.

James Parry, Head of Marketing (BBC Sport and Events): “We wanted the ‘Who Blinks First?’ films to get fans excited for the return of the Six Nations. It was also important to us that the campaign grabbed the attention of audiences who are new to rugby – we hope the trails encourage them to discover for themselves why the Six Nations championship is loved by so many.”

Every home nation’s men’s game will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 5 Live or 5 Live Sports Extra throughout the competition. Live commentary of every England Women’s game will also be broadcast on 5 Live Sports Extra or online, with highlights on the BBC Sport website.