It happens every four years. Football mania engulfs the world. The FIFA World Cup is in progress in Russia. And the whole world is going football crazy. Advertising agencies have no choice but to go crazy too. For their brands, their brand ambassadors and their brand stories to capitalise on all the euphoria. So, every other ad this month has a football theme, despite the fact that India is not even playing in Moscow. But enough brands believe that Indians are as football obsessed as any other fans around the world. So, bash on regardless.
Perhaps one of the best World Cup ads in media currently is the Gatorade’s ‘When you have a dream to chase, nothing can stop you’, a four-minute film featuring Lionel Messi in animation. The film titled ‘Heart of a Lio’ was conceptualised by TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles. The animation film shows the Argentinean and Barcelona star grow up from a tiny tot in his home town, to a football legend at FC Barcelona, his club and his professional home. The story line itself is nothing new. In fact, pretty predictable. But what makes this commercial so special is the slick and smooth animation, a story told with warmth and feeling.
The Gatorade film opens on Messi with a ‘10’ jersey. The narrative then goes back to the birth of Messi and his prodigious prowess as a young footballer. Nothing but nothing seems to stop the little boy as he outruns and outscores his peers. But there is bad news in store. Doctors tell Messi he has a growth defect. The poor boy is in tears. A friendly apparition appears. “When you have a dream to chase, nothing can stop you,” it says. The tiny Messi is mesmerised to action.
And starts to play even better. His incredible talent becomes a ticket to the Mecca of football, Barcelona. The young Messi continues to weave magic with the ball. Stardom and fame happen. However, the gods have their ways. The star fumbles and stumbles. Misses goals. Loses form. Till the friendly apparition appears from the past. It says, “When you have a dream to chase, nothing can stop you.” Messi goes back to being the best.
What I love about this commercial is its intrinsic simplicity. There are little nuances that raise the creative quality of the narrative. For example, the animation of the heavens blowing misfortunes Messi’s way, very subtly has God worn a headband made of footballs. It is a small touch you can almost miss. But it is small touches such as this that elevate great creatives.
The entire four-minute commercial has no mention of Gatorade, has no product shot, no logo. It is almost as if there is no brand in the ad. The Gatorade logo, the famous ‘G’, does appear, but more as a film producer, rather than a brand seller. Again, subtle. And elegant. In contrast, the Hyundai ad with Romeo calling out for his Juliet and intruding into her World Cup viewing is somewhat crass, but funny. The whole narrative is exaggerated and dramatic.
The entire focus is to drive fans to the Hyundai helpline by calling **FOOTBALL where there are lots of goodies available in return for a test drive. The commercial may have completely missed my attention, had it not been for the sheer simplicity of the communication. The Romeo is really cute. The Juliet is so poised and staged. You laugh. Everything about the commercial is so unreal, but it is the fact that the brand owners know that there is no seriousness to the messaging except brand engagement with football that allows an easy and fun narrative. Sometimes it is nice for brands to let their hair down!
Gatorade has yet another campaign in media that features FC Barcelona teammates Leo Messi and Luis Suarez. In this film, again conceptualised by TBWAChiatDay, the duo are shown as best friends. And then comes the close of the European football season and it’s time for the FIFA World Cup, where the duo turn out for Argentina and Uruguay respectively.
That ends the duo’s friendship. They try outdoing each other and this competitiveness even leads to Messi ‘unfollowing’ Suarez on Instagram. It ends with the duo walking out to the pitch to play each other in the game. As they both exchange glances, they’re shown holding a Gatorade bottle. A superb line appears, ‘Everything changes, except what’s inside them’. Brilliant! (Sandeep Goyal is an advertising veteran. He has worked at leading ad agencies like JWT, Grey, DDB, Rediffusion and Dentsu for over 30 years.)