Before the 2010 World Cup, Nike released a three-minute film that imagined how a single moment on the pitch could shape a player’s future. It starred Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Fabio Cannavaro, Franck Ribéry and Ronaldinho, with cameos from Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, Homer Simpson and Gael García Bernal.
The agency was Wieden+Kennedy and the director was Alejandro González Iñárritu. According to Wikipedia, the film took a year of creative development followed by three months of filming and editing across England, Spain, Italy and Kenya, and its soundtrack was “Hocus Pocus” by the rock band Focus.
It spread quickly. In its first week the film reached 7.8 million views, a record for a viral ad at that time.
It was not a perfect prediction. Slate later pointed out that the ad was a warning about relying on star power at a World Cup, because not every star it showed had the tournament the film imagined. It stays memorable because it sold a feeling about the game, not a shoe.
Leave a Reply