Classic Football TV commercials

Have you ever seen one of those commercials that makes your neck hairs stand and gives you that excited jittery feeling down your spine, and all of a sudden you’re in the zone and ready to go play?  For me, at least, there have been several times that I have sat down at my computer and spent a few hours grazing over football commercial, its something I could watch all day.  This might be because I live in the U.S. so I rarely see soccer commercials on television (or even games, but that's another story).  One reason for that might be because few people in the U.S., besides myself and the few other die-hard fans, would be able to recognized even half the players in my two favorite spots that I am about to discuss.

Let’s start with Nike, my second favorite brand and commercial.  This campaign was call “Write the Future” and it was used for the 2010 World Cup. 

Even if I had only heard the slogan I would have gotten goosebumps.  It sticks out.  Your imagination immediate gets to work as you picture yourself being the hero, in control of your own destiny, becoming legendary.  Well, that is exactly what this extended tv spot depicts.  You’re Wayne Rooney and you either accept failure due to a misplaced pass, or you go all out to win it back and become the hero. 

This commercial is also great because it shows how the real world reacts to what “you” do on the pitch.  This spot emphasizes that legends are born in big moments.  Jut as Christiano Ronaldo steps up to take the free-kick near the end, it simulates that experience.  All of a sudden you cant hear the crowd, you start imaging the glory you’ll bring if you score, and then it happens, but all you see is the “write the future” slogan.  It ends on a cliffhanger, leaving you wanting more (a very common advertising principle), and that is something every brand dreams of for its advertisements.  I also love the you decide mentality that this commercial provokes and the subliminal Nike plug, rather than the in-your-face-buy-our-product advertisement.

Next up, adidas and their  “+10” / “Impossible is Nothing” campaigns for the 2006 World Cup. 

Again, the “+10” probably doesn’t mean much to a non-native football player, but even still, it is unclear until you actually watch the commercial.  Adidas sets the stage with the most common type of football game played, a pick-up/street-ball game, with one exception: this game involves the world’s greatest players.  But wait, another twist is thrown in when the boys calls out “Beckenbauer” and then “Platini” who are former German and French football legends who have long since retired from the game (they either used awesome special editing effects or extreme look-a-likes, but either way, its awesome). 

At the end of the commercial the “+10” resonates as you realize its referring to you + 10 other players.  Once again, there is a you’re in control feeling, because the boys are controlling the team and putting players in different positions than expected.

“Impossible is Nothing” to me means if these kids can play a pick-up game with the worlds greatest, the anything is possible.  However, I feel adidas was more focused on the fun of the game aspect. The World Cup is a time where the world comes together, emphasized by the different nationalities of the players depicted, which is more of the emotion that adidas was aiming for.  I believe it to be effective as well, because there is nothing that I enjoy more than a pick-up game with friends.  The subtle use of product placement, like the adidas sponsored uniforms or training gear for the players on a team that is sponsored by a different brand, and makes sure the viewer knows this is an adidas commercial. 

In summery, I would say that Nike’s “Write the Future” has a much more impactful slogan and powerful commercial than adidas’, but maybe because I know I will never get to play on such a stage, or because I am biased to adidas since they partially own and sponsor Bayern München, I will always keep this adidas commercial as my favorite.