Who: Kellogg Canada (Vector cereal brand); with Leo Burnett for strategy and creative (French adaptation by Martel & Cie); Colossale for production; Tonic DNA for animation; and Starcom Mediavest Group for media.

What: “For the Glory of Sports,” a new campaign that continues the cereal brand’s ongoing positioning as being ideally suited to sports enthusiasts.

When & Where: The campaign is in market now, running across TV and online video as two 15-second spots, and seven-second cutdowns.

Why: Vector specifically caters to adults, describing itself as being “specifically formulated to meet the nutritional needs of active, health-conscious Canadian adults.”

But while cereal brands have enjoyed a longstanding association with professional athletes, “For the Glory of Sports” celebrates the millions of Canadians who play recreational sports for nothing more than the love of the game. The new campaign extends recent marketing urging amateur sports enthusiasts to “be ready” for when sports calls.

How: The campaign shows just how much recreational athletes love their sports, even if that enjoyment means being crushed against the boards during a game of pick-up hockey, or finding yourself stuck between an opponent’s thighs while playing rugby. All of the people featured in the spots are actual rec-league athletes.

The two 15-second spots, “215 Pounds of Human” and “Gary’s Thighs” each present a slow-motion version of the less glamorous aspects of recreational spots, while a voiceover addresses the absurdity of the situation. “This is your idea of a perfect Sunday? Nestling in the sweet embrace of Gary’s thighs?” it says in one. “What for? For the glory of sports.”

“Filming the spots in slow motion allowed us to capture the feeling of playing sports,” said Leo’s co-chief creative officer, Steve Persico. “And by juxtaposing the grandiosity of the visuals with humour, it really helped ground the spots to feel more relatable, and true to our audience.”

And we quote: “At Vector we love sports. All kinds. And we are out there to make all kinds of athletes ready for the day. Especially the unsung ones: the rec athletes. The ones who get up early, stay up late for the worst ice times, who pay to be there and whose passion is fuelled purely by their love for playing the game.”— Emma Eriksson, vice-president, marketing and wellbeing, Kellogg Canada.