On Monday I mentioned that the Mexican director Iñárritu ('Amores Perros', '21 Grams' and 'Babel') had lent his talent to a amazing Nike soccer ad entitled 'Write the Future'. As the 2010 World Cup is upon us (starting tomorrow afternoon) I thought I'd put some more football related clips up here.
During a period of huge artistic frustration Terry Gilliam (who had not been able to complete a film since 1998's 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas') agreed to direct a series of 2002 football trailers for Nike. 'The Secret Tournament' is the result. The ad is typically bizarre and imaginative, as the world's best players gather on a boat in the middle of nowhere (and under cover of darkness) to play some sort of cage football tournament, under the watchful gaze of Eric Cantona. This ad campaign also popularised a remixed version of Elvis Pressley's 'A Little Less Conversation', sending the track to number one in the UK charts.
In 2008, Guy "Lock, Stock" Ritchie made a typically geezery football ad, again for Nike. 'Take it to the Next Level' shows a first person view of one man's journey from Sunday league football to the big time. It's really very good, getting across the excitement of Premier League football from an angle unfamiliar to most of us as the protagonist plays side-by-side with the likes of Fabregas and Gallas for Arsenal against Manchester United.
I have no idea who directed this one from 2006, but as an Arsenal fan I am putting it up anyway. It shows Thierry Henry running around his house avoiding Manchester United players and even playing a one-two with then-teammate Fredrik Ljungberg. It's nowhere near as visually accomplished as the other three examples, but it's quite fun.
Anyhow, hope that burst of football-related advertising has left you even more excited by the prospect of tomorrow's football (hopefully it hasn't left you feeling depressed or mournful). Just to round things off: here is that 'Write the Future' ad again:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment