Sunderland FC - Retro Special Edition Capsule Campaign

Really proud to present my latest campaign for Sunderland Football Club of their latest release with Hummel. I was approached by one of the marketing team at Sunderland after they saw my shoot with Jill Scott last year. I was buzzing when they got back in touch with a project we could work on and the best news was that it was on an exciting retro release of two of the most fabled Sunderland pieces of merchandise.

The drop features two legendary products that have never before been released to supporters, our 1992 FA Cup Final walk-out jacket and 1993-94 third shirt. Previously worn exclusively by players in the shadow of Wembley’s iconic twin towers, the walk-out jacket features a bold colourway with a striking purple and sky-blue trim. Our electric yellow third kit signalled the end of hummel’s first era on Wearside, but like the Danish sportswear brand, it’s back with a bang and available to fans for the very first time.

The success of the launch was incredible and the stock which was in the thousands, sold out within the first morning!

An incredibly successful campaign all round!

Working with ‘locals’ and fans was a really important part of the shoot and that goes for location and models.

We shot local artist Rach Small (@celadoreUK) and poet Tobias Hodgson (@tobiashodgson) at VAUX brewery which was the original and synonymous club sponsor.

We used the taproom and amazing 1960s Vaux Peugeot Van as our backdrops. Vaux has been a beloved name in Sunderland for almost 200 years. From the earliest incarnation of 'C. Vaux & Sons' in 1837 right through to the 1990's, the brewery was an important part of city life in Sunderland until its closure in 1999. Having relaunched this iconic brand in 2019 we opened our Monk Street brewery & taproom in 2021.

“From planning to post-production, collaborating with Ben was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for all within our creative team. Ben and his team not only understood the brief provided but built on it, ensuring the delivery went above and beyond our expectations. His energy on set was infectious and his professionalism was consummate. We look forward to working alongside him again in the future.”

— Oscar Chamberlain, Head of Coms and Digital Marketing, SAFC.