Advertising through the eyes of Tom Baptie

Short entries exploring adverts regarding football 

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While being bizarre, the idea of being able to smell freshly-cut grass and hear the roar of the stadium whilst waiting for the bus is something that would make the long wait for transport much more bearable. I can understand the intentions of this particular advertisement, by reaching out to multiple of the potential consumers senses it allows them to be gripped more than if it was simply a print advertisement. The fact that the chairs resemble those of the bench pitchside is also a nice touch. While not very prevalent in the UK, interactive digital advertising is something that I would love to see more of.

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Certainly an extraordinary introduction. This advertisement, again by Weiden + Kennedy, is a perfect example of outdoor advertising being used to its full potential. Rather than simply advertising Nike’s new Flyknit trainers they opted to erect a billboard of a bare foot and to knit the trainer over it in what I feel is an ingenious form of marketing. Not only is the idea phenomenal, it also accentuates Nike’s new patented method of manufacturing trainers. With only 3866 views on YouTube, I feel that this advert has been sadly overlooked as it is one that I feel is both innovative and moreover creative.

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Capturing a historic moment in football is hard, but I believe this Nike football ad by Wieden + Kennedy does it perfectly. Stylising key international players into statues resembling those outside the grounds of famous stadiums is extremely effective in conveying the message of heroic acts in football. Not only are the images exceptionally beautiful, I feel that the copy is extremely well written. Striking captions such as: “Change history with just one strike” truly captures the significance that one individual’s actions can have on a nation’s football history. The imperative Write The Future tagline is again effective as it is enigmatic, reminding the viewer that history is constantly writing itself.

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While celebrity endorsement is generally a positive thing, this is an example by Impact BBDO Dubai where it can be hilariously pathetic. Firstly, Wayne Rooney is a terrible actor, his wooden rehearsal of his lines couldn’t be more painful to watch. Secondly, how on earth is a viewer meant to be engaged with this ad? There are no ambient sounds or backing track whatsoever, the drab to-and-fro from Wayne to Giggs and Evra is only interrupted by a sharp whoosh every time a poorly animated bolt of fire passes through the shot. While the final still image of the bottle of wine is aesthetically pleasing, it is hard to ignore the fact that this advert was actually commissioned for Manchester United. 

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What a tasteful and playful advert from Emirates. Fans of the Premier League will know about Emirates’ close affiliation with football. Sponsoring Arsenal and their Emirates stadium for a few years now and only recently becoming the sponsor for the FA Cup are some of the various things Emirates have to boast about. A change from the ordinarily fast-paced and dynamic ads which I have previously touched upon in my earlier posts, this ad shows a connection between fans and stars in a scenario free from any conflict or competition. In fact, taking a look at Emirates’ other campaigns, it seems to be a reoccurring theme in order to strengthen their brand image.

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A brand that you would normally associate with tacky running trainers that your Dad might wear is now a big name in world football sponsorship. Being the sponsor of huge clubs such as Liverpool and Celtic is nothing to be taken lightly, and the inclusion of stars such as Samir Nasri and Adnan Januzaj shows just how much of a statement they are making. The ad, being abstract in nature, uses copy to drill their slogan into the viewer. “Make chances. Take chances.” is the slogan for this advert and this is shown at the end of the ad where it presents an interactive element to the viewer. At the end it presents you with two clickable annotations, each for a different boot. Being curious I clicked on the “Furon” option. As expected, it sent me to a short clip which detailed the boot in question. I think in terms of a marketing strategy this is an effective one, as a viewer who watched to the end of the clip is more likely to be interested enough in the boots to click on one of the links at the end.

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A cold winters day. A half-deflated ball, two jumpers balled up into makeshift goalposts and a waterlogged field. The perfect recipe for a great afternoon of football. This advert for Nike football by W+K Portland captures this perfectly and exaggerates the feeling of playing the beautiful game. Ordinary suburban lads become multi-millionaire superstars in a feature-length advertisement which is not only exciting but also very clever in the way this it switches from shots of the teenagers to the shots of the footballers. The inclusion of international football players will appeal to potential consumers immediately and I have identified that Nike does this frequently in their adverts, utilising their huge financial power in order to draw the biggest stars to their fans.

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Here’s another Nike advert focusing on Brazillian football by Wieden + Kennedy. This particular advert depicts Brazillian footballers such as Ronaldo transversing through an airport whilst playing football. I think that the choice of soundtrack, Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes, is perfect for this as it is a timeless song which the viewer would immediately associate with Brazil, most probably because it was the theme for the ‘66 world cup in Brazil. The slow pace of this song is juxtaposed alongside the hectic scenes in the airport which leads the advert to be comical in nature whilst still remaining gripping to watch.

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The Premier League has launched their new visual identity as of today to coincide with the league being without a sponsor for the 2016/17 season. Despite describing the crest as “relevant, modern and flexible” it received a huge backlash from fans, labelling it as childish and not in line with the prestigious image that the Premier league has held. On a personal level I can sympathise with their decision to rebrand in this manner as I can see that they have made the effort to include the Barclays lion motif that they have had for a few years now in a more modern fashion. I personally think that the majority of the negative feedback is the result of the decrease in more traditional branding, which may be more popular to some older fans, in modern day football.

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Pepsi, while some may not think it is synonymous with football, it certainly is a growing name in terms of sports sponsorships. This particular advertisement by AMV BBDO incorporates gynamist talents and football into an ad reminiscent of freestyle footballers seen on Youtube. The bright colours and the way in which the viewer can see the pitch being assembled adds to the reality of what would normally be quite a surreal experience. Slow motion is used to great effect in this particular advert and this does a great job of accentuating the difficulty of the acrobatic stunts the actors are performing. While there was no copy during the actual sequence, I felt that the copy at the end of the clip could have been used to better effect. The word unbelievable was a bit lacklustre in my opinion and was a bit obscure in what it was trying to convey. Personally, I would have opted to simply display the Pepsi max logo, as sometimes less is more when it comes to copy.

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I love how this particular advertisement intertwines the big-money, televised aspect of football alongside the organic, street football that Brazil prides itself upon. As with the majority of Nike football ads the agency is Wieden + Kennedy and it features superstars such as Neymar, David Luiz and Thiago Silva. It seems to me that a reoccurring theme with Wieden and Kennedy is the presence of big-name stars, and I believe this can only be a positive thing as it increases the brand profile of the company. The advert, titled Dare to be Brazillian, uses an abundance of dynamic camera shots in order to engage the viewer and draw them into the world of Brazillian football. The advert was also featured around the build-up to the 2014 world cup in Brazil, which meant that Nike did an extremely good job of associating itself with the host of such a prestigious event, as the opportunity only arises every four years. I also particularly like the use of animation in this, and in conjunction with the scenes in which the Brazillian players are miniaturised it leads the viewer to have a very unique, surreal experience.

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While not necessarily not advertising football, this advert is one that achieved notoriety around the time of its release. TBWA\London’s 30 second advertisement is another that again embodies grassroots football and the no-nonsense approach that seems to be the norm regarding Britain in general. The advert works well in the aspect that John Smiths is a beer typically drank by older men rather than teens or younger demographics. The use of older men in this advert makes this explicit and the absence of women is perhaps a testament to this also. 

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Although valentines day was last month, I felt this advert was worth sharing. The simplicity of the advert in tandem with the familiar football chanting heard makes this a very clean, and effective advert. The minimalist approach to copy in this advert works perfectly with the premise of it, the no-nonsense approach to the copy is a testament to how good the art direction is. I’m not sure if potential viewers will begin to sing along with the advertisement but I do feel that they will be drawn to the advertisement in some way or another. I also feel that the close-up of the gentleman’s t shirt at the end of the ad is significant, as the simple heart and ball motif is a great way of expressing the passionate game of football with no dialogue whatsoever.

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If you like toilet humour, then you’ll find this advert from Umbro amusing. There isn’t much more I can say about it without being crude but it depicts a gentleman being placed in a very precarious situation and having to use his jersey as a substitute for toilet paper. Having done this, the viewer sees him swap his jersey with a member of the opposition, who is oblivious to this and presumably mistakes it for mud. I love this for two reasons, the first being the amusing story it tells, and secondly due to it encapsulating the feeling of sunday-league football all in one advertisement. It would be nice to see more recent advertisements incorporate humour like this into their campaigns.

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This is another advert that I particularly love. Taking a POV of an amateur football player is such an ingenious idea and I think that it does a really good job of not only promoting Nike as a brand affiliated with football but also a great job of engaging the viewer. I feel that perhaps Arsenal was the wrong team for the character to play for, but I suppose that’s me just being biased. 72andSunny did an extremely good job with the camera-work on this particular advert, with the POV style of camera angle working to an exceptional degree. I feel that the main appeal of this is seeing the game being played from an angle besides the birds-eye view that fans would normally experience from watching the game on television or from the stands. The quick cuts from the pitch and various scenarios that the player takes place in works brilliantly in capturing the life of a footballer and the excitement that comes with it.

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Here’s a really nice one from Nike by W+K Portland a few years ago. This whimsical 5-minute video depicts the passionate game of football coming under threat from what I believe to be an embodiment of major corporations. In terms of an advertisement, Nike’s advert did an extremely good job at making an emotive advert which not only captures the viewers attention but also leads them to buy into Nike’s positive pro-football image. The direction of going with an animated advert is what sets this one asides from the others as I believe that stepping aside from the stereotypical ads featuring celebrities is what makes this extremely refreshing to watch. There’s something very satisfying about seeing your favourite stars in the form of an animation, and I feel that this is what makes this advert a very memorable one.

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This is an advertisement I particularly enjoyed, mainly due to the fact that despite being extremely controversial, I believe Luis Suarez to be one of the most exciting footballers of the modern era. Opting to engage the audience by addressing them directly, I feel that Iris does a stellar job at selling Adidas’ boots. One reason that I think this advertisement works really well at selling the product is because it promotes individuality, stating that there will always be haters and they should not stop you from making decisions. The use of Suarez in this campaign is extremely clever in this respect, as he epitomises the message of this advertisement.