Friday, 29 May 2009

CHAMPIONS!

What do back-projection rigged Fords, Zidane stalked footy players sporting adidas and Christian Slaters PC World habits have in common? They’re amongst the high profile spots premiered in the Champions League Final on Wednesday night in the UK. Whilst not garnering the kind of ad frenzy our Yankee cousins’ Superbowl may command, the sporting event certainly draws a few high profile launches. Here are three cinematic numbers that caught our eye:

ADIDAS – THE SPARK



Talk about sly planning. Slap bang in the middle of a (sorry to say it Man U fans) Barcalona led match, adidas, 180 Amsterdam and RIOT launch their latest footy campaign starring Barca star Lionel Messi. Shot in the style of a Sin City-esque graphic novel, the spot shows a mysterious hooded Zidane checking out ‘The Spark’ as he dominates the pitch. However, the 30 second TV commercial is just the tip of a integrated iceberg, with the distinctive design elements running through to print, retail, digital, events, ground activation and even gaming – as well as a moody 90 second film seeded online.



Speaking of the campaign, Eric Liedtke, SVP of Brand Marketing for adidas says, “We set out to do something different in how we brought the F50i and our Every Team Needs communications program to consumers. To the football audience a big TV spot is only a moment long, but an intriguing series of films, clues, product previews and digital tools can sustain this consumer and entice them to engage with our product and brand and put us in their consideration set for purchase.”

Check out more at www.adidas.com/football.

PC WORLD – WHATEVER YOUR WORLD



Computers. There’re everywhere now. From futuristic touchscreens to GPS madness, no matter where you sit, sleep or wipe your bum, a Bill Gates powered technodroid is probably monitoring you. So it stands to reason that chatting to the compu-literate folk at PC World might be a good way to stay ahead of Skynet. For their latest campaign, the computer behemoth and Saatchi&Saatchi have eschewed the normal processing and RAM stats to present an entire microchip lifestyle solution. Utilising a distinctive voiceover and many guises, the ad’s protagonist tells us how PC World cleverbods basically made his life loads better. Oh, and he changes into Christian Slater at one point and he was in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves – BLI-MEY - so it’s a heavy win from us.

FORD - KINETIC



Continuing the cinematic theme, the latest spot for Ford takes us behind the screens of the movie making process by showcasing their sleek cars on back-projection rigs. Following a group of drivers as they weave through a lonely city, the commercial cleverly intercuts between the ‘film’ and the ‘set’ – all showcasing the vehicles ability to ‘look like they’re moving even when they’re not’. Quite why this is a good thing we’re not sure, but the spot is well pretty and the end jump reminds us a bit of Speed, so there you go.

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