The public image: Adidas's 'Star Wars' cantina World Cup ad
By Jonathan Birchall
Published: June 22 2010 03:00 | Last updated: June 22 2010 03:00
Client: Adidas Agency: Sid Lee Territory: Global Verdict: ****
Adidas is the leading sponsor of teams at the World Cup. But the German sports brand has put its biggest advertising dollars into a campaign that aims to expand its appeal beyond the limits of the pitch.
The brand's Star Wars cantina 2010 ad is the latest effort in its collaboration with the makers of the films. In this edition, it reworks the famous bar scene from the original film. Han Solo, Obi Wan Kenobi and a bar full of aliens watching the football are joined by David Beckham, former England captain, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, rapper Snoop Dogg and other celebrities with walk-on parts. The film is funny, clever and has the requisite cool in-jokes to encourage repeat viewing.
Since it was launched at the start of June, the video has been viewed more than 3.4m times on YouTube. Nike's rival big-budget "Write the Future" soccer-focused video is up to 15m views. But Adidas wanted to highlight its co-branded Star Wars casual clothing line rather than its soccer wear. The ad is, therefore, aimed at a more segmented audience that can recognise a two-second shot of someone such as DJ Neil Armstrong. As such, it cleverly takes Adidas's sponsorship of the World Cup to audiences that a more conventional soccer-themed campaign could not hope to reach.
Jonathan Birchall
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