Case
Rabobank presents: Gem Guards
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Client
Rabobank
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Service
Strategy, Concept, Campaign, Video, Social, Design
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Date
2026
From jewellery ban to Gem Guards
Olympic rings, family initials, a symbol that means something: jewellery tells a story. Since the international hockey federation banned it from the pitch last year, players had to leave that story at home. During this year’s Wolrd Cup, Frédérique Matla and Terrance Pieters played with custom mouthguards on home soil. Their story made it onto the pitch after all.
Telling a personal story
Each guard was hand-designed by tooth-gem artist Daniel Declercq, known for the grills he has made for artists including Bokoesam and Kempi. He sat down with both players to work out what theirs should say: Matla's Olympic rings, Pieters' roots. Two dentists sealed every gem between two layers of material, so nothing touches the teeth, and each guard meets the standards the sport requires.
Thirty years of support
Rabobank has been a partner of the Dutch hockey association for thirty years and invests in players at every level, from the youngest members at the club to Oranje at a World Cup. Standing that close to the sport means seeing what players actually need. With this campaign, Rabobank wanted to show a younger generation that there is room in hockey to be yourself, on and off the pitch.
From launch video to Gem Cam
The campaign launched with a film in the style of a nineties commercial, aimed at a younger audience, followed by a making-of in which both players tell their own story.
At the tournament it ran on the stadium screens and on the Gem Cam, a fan camera putting supporters in the spotlight during the break, while a Snapchat filter let fans try their own Gem Guard look. The story was told further through social, podcast, print and PR.
