Sony Ericsson has hired 6 up-and-coming female tennis players to star in digital campaign dubbed ‘Xperia Hotshots’. The brand is sponsoring Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and picked six young athletes to get more publicity for its attention to the sport.

Image: www.whatmobile.net

The offline launch of the campaign took place in Miami’s South Beach as the new Facebook page was unveiled by brand Ambassador Maria Sharapova and the six heroines in front of the crowd.

The digital campaign launched on YouTube channel and Facebook, follows the lives of 6 girls and promising athletes like Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA), Heather Watson (UK), Alize Cornet (France), Sabine Lisicki (Germany), Sorana Cirstea (Romania) and Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) – as they compete in the women’s tour. Another shadowy character of the campaign—Mr. SonyEricsson—will put the girls in front of tricky challenges and make them real superstars. Needless to say, each of the challenges will feature Sony Ericsson handhelds.

In September followers of the campaign will vote for their favourite contestant who will be awarded with €100,000.

According to www.brandrepublic.com, the creative was developed by Stephan Croix, head of global marketing partnerships for Sony Ericsson. Monkey agency is in charge of video production, while Pretty Green and Iris are behind the social media activity.

Mr. Croix commented on the campaign, «‘Xperia Hot Shots’ is an exciting and innovative web TV show that will bring added entertainment to women’s tennis. It provides fans with the chance to get closer to WTA players and celebrities, and see them take part in unusual challenges and amazing stunts, all of which they can watch on their Xperia smartphones.»