Fire And Dragons Reign Over All Blacks V Ireland Game At Wellington’s Sky Stadium
High-drama and thrilling action is always to be expected
when New Zealand take to the rugby pitch. However, the
arrival of dragons at Sky Stadium during half-time at the
All Blacks v Ireland match was not your typical pitch
invasion.
To celebrate the upcoming launch
of the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel,
House of the Dragon, spine-tingling roars,
fire breathing, and imposing shadows were witnessed in the
Kiwi capital.
Premiering express from the US, on Sky and Neon from Monday 22 August, HBO’s House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen. Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel and Rhys Ifans all star in the new series
Knowing how much New Zealanders loved the
original franchise and wanting to create a truly memorable
moment to launch the new series, Sky challenged creative
agency The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, to do just
that.
Sky Chief Executive, Sophie Moloney, said: “Sky’s commitment to delivering world leading content to New Zealanders is well-established, and we are all eagerly anticipating House of the Dragon. As we look forward to the premiere on 22 August, we wanted to create genuine excitement and shareable moments for our customers and all Kiwis, and what better place to do it than at Sky Stadium. As the home of HBO’s House of the Dragon (and Game of Thrones) in New Zealand, we wanted an activation that felt true to the spirit of the programme but would also delight spectators at Sky Stadium and viewers at home alike. The Monkeys have certainly delivered on both fronts.
Says Justin Mowday, Chief Executive Officer of
The Monkeys Aotearoa, part of Accenture Song: “Sky TV have
the best sport and the best TV shows in the world on their
channels, so it made sense to bring them together -
launching HBO’s House of the Dragon
within an All Blacks test match, at Sky Stadium. We
wanted to make the promotion as epic as the show, what could
be better than a dragon landing on the roof of a stadium in
front of 38,000 people?”
Sky would also
like to thank the teams at New Zealand Rugby and Sky Stadium
for all their support.
House of the Dragon premieres on Monday 22 August on Neon and Sky Go, and on SoHo at 1pm and again at 8.30pm
About Sky:
Sky is New Zealand’s leading entertainment company and home to the best and broadest choice in live sport, movies, shows, documentaries and breaking news. Sky offers a suite of viewing choices to suit every New Zealander, whether it’s through the Sky Box and streaming service Sky Go for direct- to-home customers, or through its streaming services Sky Sport Now for sport or Neon for movies and entertainment. Sky also owns free-to-air channel, Prime. Unique New Zealand stories and free- to-air sport are a strong part of Prime’s line-up.
The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song:
• Damon Stapleton, Chief Creative
Officer
• James Conner, Creative Director
•
Christie Cooper, Creative Director
• Tom Sykes, Head of
Planning
• Craig McLeod, Senior Planner
• Susannah
O’hUadhaigh, Art Director
• Arron Sharma,
Copywriter
• Rosie Grayson, Head of Integrated
Production
• Ruth Coulson, Group Business
Director
• Jackson Edgecombe, Business Executive
•
Firework Professionals Ltd
• Liquid Studios
•
Creature Post
• Kaboose
Media