Color-blind rugby fans can see the game better with this Chrome extension

We're seeing some interesting innovations around the Rugby World Cup this year. Advertisers have moved away from clichéd spots about love of the game with ideas such as a pop-up launderette that washes clothes "All Black" for New Zealand fans (Steinlager) and a global spot for people who don't even understand rugby (Heineken).

Another addition to the line-up is a campaign by Accenture-owned Irish agency Rothco for the Irish Rugby Football Union. It developed a Chrome extension for color-blind Irish rugby fans (there are apparently 250,000 of them) who can't see green, the color of the national team. An emotive film, seen here, shows one color-blind fan, Bobby, viewing the players in green for the first time. 

The tool allows color-blind users to apply a color overlay to a video by adjusting the hue, saturation, and contrast. As color blindness varies from person to person, Rothco says the tool needed to be simple to use but capable of delivering a personalized experience. Thus, a slider-based solution—calibrated by using the IRFU logo—easily alters the contrast of the shades on screen. The extension can be used on desktop for any matches that are being streamed legally.

“Inclusivity is central to Irish Rugby and the team stands shoulder to shoulder with fans," says Adam Crane, creative director at Rothco. "With this campaign we wanted to explore this idea even further. Color vision deficiency and color blindness only affects approximately 5% of the population, but we felt that it was a group of fans that we could and should help. 'See Green' is a simple tech fix that can improve the flow of matches for this group. All our research suggests that we have made it a more enjoyable experience following the men in green.”