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MUMBAI: It is not just the Fifa partners that
are looking to capitalise on the football fever that will grip
Indian soccer fans.
A case in point is Nike, which is an arch rival of Fifa partner
Adidas. Nike has made five television commercials featuring famous
football players.
This is a part of Nike's Joga Bonito (Play Beautiful) campaign.
Joy, Team, Honour, Skill and Heart are the values of Beautiful
football and the themes of the commercials, which are introduced
by Eric Cantona from the studios of JogaTV - the TV station
created to spread the Joga Bonito message.
Joga.com is social network site created by Nike and Google, giving
people who share a passion for the joy and beauty of football the
chance to create a global online community for the world's most
popular sport. Available in 14 languages, joga.com (joga means
"play" in Portuguese) enables users to create their own profiles,
pick their favourite players, see profiles of players such as
Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney, choose teams
and pitches, post their own photos and videos, and form global
social networks with others to share, debate and celebrate the
heart and soul of football.
In India, Nike is first using the Inox and PVR multiplexes later
this month to spread the message. The first ad Joy sees unique,
genuine footage of Brazilian star Ronaldinho playing a Futsal
match as a child in Porto Alegre, mixed in with footage of him
playing now - showing that despite his position as a star player
with Brazil and FC Barcelona, his pure joy at playing football
still shines through. His amazing skills, balance with the ball
and his samba celebration dance are evident even from an early
age, and echoed by his older self.
Honour shows Thierry Henry playing a street game with friends and
members of his family. Set on an urban concrete court, it is a
place where ability is all and diving brings disrespect. As
Thierry and his mates show off their moves, even the watching Eric
Cantona cannot resist entering the fray to join his fellow
Frenchman.
Heart features Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney,
with team mates Rio Ferdinand and Tim Howard, and manager Sir Alex
Ferguson. The commercial captures Rooney's wholehearted approach
and enthusiasm. As his team concedes a goal in a training session,
Rooney decides to take matters into his own hands and go in goal
himself (something he enjoys doing in Manchester United training).
After pulling off a string of saves, he then launches an attack of
his own, to the exasperation of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Skill is a duel between two of the most gifted players in the
world - Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Eric Cantona
shows Cristiano some footage of Zlatan's skills, then challenges
him "can you beat that?" What follows is an incredible showcase of
extravagant skills as the two players compete without ever coming
fact to face.
Team provides a glimpse into the team spirit that makes current
World Champions Brazil the favourites again this summer and
reflects the typical Brasilian preparation for a match.
Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano, Robinho, Cicinho and Roberto Carlos
are playing together in the coach - although it's on musical
instruments this time.
Once in the changing rooms, they can't resist the urge to let
their natural football skills express themselves as the team
prepares. Then, inspired by a communal prayer (first introduced by
the Brazil team as they prepared for their 2-0 victory over
Germany in Japan in 2002), they head out into the stadium and we
see how Brazil's team spirit translates to inspirational
performance on the pitch.
The commercials are being shown on JogaTV (via the
www.nikefootball.com website). Nike VP global brand management
Trevor Edwards comments, "These commercials each represent one of
the values that we, and the players involved, led by Eric Cantona,
believe make up beautiful football."
Brasil and Barcelona forward Ronaldinho, who appears in two of the
commercials, said, "It was fantastic to appear in the Team ad and
the way it shows us dancing and singing before a game. There are
some great characters in the Brasil team and this shows the
enjoyment we all get from representing our country."
"In the Joy commercial you can see me playing Futsal in porto
alegre when I was very young. I developed a lot of skills playing
futsal that I still use today," he added.
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