Nike steps up the already feverish pitch of world cup soccer with it’s latest viral video series, “Risk Everything”. In thiss Episode, the short animation pitches the science of cloning the perfect player against your average Ronaldo. Of course, the clones are amazing, but the sport of football, along with its fans and its passion, dies.
“The Last Game” is a story about risky football versus safe football. The scientist and the clones want to prove that riskless football is more effective.
Ronaldo Fenomeno and the original players disagree, and they are willing to risk everything to prove the scientist wrong.
There is only one way to know who is right: the Last Game. Featuring (the animated): Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Neymar Júnior, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Andrés Iniesta, David Luiz, Franck Ribéry, Tim Howard and Ronaldo Fenomeno.
In the end, the humans re-unite, take on the Clones and win. And we are left with that sinking feeling that Nike was right… shoes really do matter.
Yes, it was a commercial. With the World Cup just around the corner Nike has further evolved following the lead of companies like Red Bull and Coca-Cola who have turned their business storytelling into content marketing so native that you don’t realize you are consuming ads (or that their dives from space are actually fake).
While opinions about Nike may vary, I must say that this Nike World Cup ad campaign warranted a big kudos for the team at Nike. After seeing the one-minute short for the commercial I found myself on YouTube searching for the full-length version and other commercials in the series. I ended up spending 25 minutes riding an elliptical while watching commercials, on purpose. Who does that? Via forbes.com
Yippee! Let’s Do It… or, as Nike would say, “Just do it…”
All the World Cup Superstars make an Appearance
With the kickoff of the 2014 World Cup just three days away, Nike Football has unleashed its latest blockbuster in the “Risk Everything” campaign.
The concept is that mad scientists have created clone versions of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Andrés Iniesta, Franck Ribery, David Luiz and Tim Howard.
The human versions, you see, take too many risks on the field, and their percentage chances for success aren’t great (prior evidence notwithstanding, apparently).
The clones, meanwhile, precise and machinelike in their decision making (unlike Spain), have been engineered to take no risks (the Germans have perfected this, of course, but never mind) and are ready to stomp on their frail human opponents with ruthless mathematical efficiency.
Thus, events are set in motion that lead to the ultimate showdown, or, as Nike calls it, “The Last Game.”
This isn’t just a football match. It’s Deep Blue vs. Kasparov for the future of world football. Directed by Jon Saunders of Passion Pictures, the spot has a frenetic animation style reminiscent of The Incredibles.
This makes some of the game footage feel a bit light on its feet, perhaps, the players seem bird-like at times. Still, every frame is gorgeously rendered. It really is like a mini Pixar film. The storyline, too, is nice and simple, grand yet silly and self-deprecating in classic Nike style. Via adweek.com
