Eden Park Stadium: Project Fortress

For over 100 years, Eden Park has stood as the fortress of New Zealand rugby. It’s where visiting teams are humbled, legends are born, and the All Blacks’ greatest victories are etched into history. It bleeds black, from the ground up.

The All Blacks hold an unbeaten 50-game streak at Eden Park. But as they prepared to face their fiercest rival, South Africa, the challenge wasn’t just on the field. It was reminding New Zealand, and the world, that Eden Park isn’t just a stadium. It’s the spiritual home of rugby.

So we gave Eden Park a voice. We treated the stadium itself as if it were a sports team - bold, confident, unapologetic. Like Nike would talk about an NBA superstar, we personified Eden Park as The Fortress. Unbeaten. Unshakable. Undeniably ours.

And because Eden Park is the All Blacks’ home, we made the turf itself All Black.

The stadium’s famous 24/7 Turf Cam (edenpark.co.nz/turfcam/) a livestream beloved by fans who ritualistically watch the groundskeepers prepare the field, became our stage. Overnight, viewers tuned in expecting fresh green grass and white lines. Instead, they saw grounds staff painting the entire field jet black.

Was it real? Was it a prank? Fans rushed to the Turf Cam to see for themselves, flooding social media with disbelief and pride.

“Classic! Harder to tackle the black shirts now.”
“That’s how you show loyalty.”
"Is this in the rugby rule book!?!"
“Run faster on black grass.”
“Our fortress. Our turf. Our pride.”
“South Africa’s going to hate this.”
“Can’t wait to see this in the flesh on game day!”

The conversation went global, as rugby fans from every corner tuned into Eden Park’s live stream to see if the impossible was true.

By turning a humble livestream into a stage for national pride, it also got shared on national news, and instantly became a talking point, helping put the biggest game of the year on everyone's radar.

It’s The Fortress. It’s our home. And we’re not done defending it.