The All Blacks legend revisits one of rugby’s most famous collisions in Pick n Pay’s global Springbok sponsorship film.
Few rivalries in world sport run deeper than South Africa versus New Zealand. Pick n Pay’s new advertising campaign leans directly into that history, and it has recruited one of rugby’s greatest-ever players to tell the story. Dan Carter, the record-breaking All Blacks fly-half, stars in the retailer’s latest television commercial. MN2S facilitated Carter’s involvement, managing the engagement from initial enquiry through to the campaign going live in July 2026.
A question every rugby fan has asked
Created by Johannesburg agency Halo, “What Are They Feeding Them?” builds on Pick n Pay’s status as a Tier 1 SA Rugby sponsor, with the retailer’s logo appearing on Springbok jerseys. The creative premise is beautifully simple. The rest of the rugby world looks at South Africa’s forwards and asks the question opposition fans have muttered for decades: what are they feeding them?
The answer, of course, is Pick n Pay. However, the campaign takes a global route to get there. The two-minute hero film travels through a series of international vignettes before resolving in a Pick n Pay store, where the secret behind Springbok size is finally revealed. Production spanned four continents, five countries and seven cities, bringing together Carter, former Scotland lock Jim Hamilton, the Eggchasers podcast and a wider cast of rugby personalities and fans. The campaign is now running across TV, digital and social media.
Carter provides the film’s most knowing moment. The commercial recreates the aftermath of Bismarck du Plessis’s infamous tackle on Carter, with the man himself asking the campaign’s central question from the treatment table. That hit, delivered at Eden Park in September 2013, remains one of the most replayed collisions in rugby history. Revisiting it with humour, and with Carter fully in on the joke, transforms a moment of on-field pain into shared rugby folklore.
Why Dan Carter was the perfect fit
Authenticity is the currency of modern sports marketing, and few athletes hold more of it than Carter. He earned 112 caps for the All Blacks, won Rugby World Cups in 2011 and 2015, and remains the highest points scorer in test rugby history with 1,598 points. He was named World Rugby Player of the Year three times before his induction into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2023.
That pedigree matters for a campaign built on rivalry. A South African brand poking fun at Springbok dominance needed a credible voice from the other side of the contest. Carter, as the man on the receiving end of the tackle in question, brings a self-deprecating charm no other casting choice could match. Moreover, his profile extends the campaign’s reach well beyond South Africa. Since retiring in 2021, he has built a substantial following across Instagram and TikTok, alongside a respected presence in leadership speaking and charitable work with UNICEF. As a result, his involvement connects the campaign with rugby audiences across New Zealand, Europe and Japan as well as mainstream consumers at home.
There is a broader lesson here for brands planning celebrity partnerships. Nostalgia works hardest when the people from the original moment take part in its retelling. Audiences reward athletes who can laugh at themselves, and they reward brands that treat sporting history with genuine affection rather than borrowed sentiment.
Sponsorship that earns attention
Shirt sponsorships often struggle to move beyond logo placement. This campaign shows how a rights holder can turn a partnership into a story instead. Halo chief creative officer Dean Oelschig has said the agency wanted the supermarket sponsorship to feel meaningful rather than merely badged on, pointing to food as the natural link between a grocery retailer and the nutrition fuelling the world’s top-ranked rugby side.
For Pick n Pay, founded in 1967 and one of South Africa’s largest multi-format retailers, the payoff is cultural relevance. The campaign gives the brand a legitimate role in rugby conversation during a period of sustained Springbok success. Consequently, the sponsorship becomes something fans quote and share, rather than something they simply see. That distinction increasingly separates effective sports sponsorship activation from expensive wallpaper.
The result speaks for itself: a high-profile television commercial for a major national retailer, fronted by one of the most recognisable athletes in world rugby, built on a creative idea that turns a decade-old tackle into a marketing win.
Looking to connect your brand with world-class sporting talent? Explore the MN2S talent roster or get in touch with our brand partnerships team to find the right fit for your next campaign.