April 5, 2006
"IMPOSSIBLE TEAM"
“Impossible Team” Global Ad Campaign Launches
Portland, Ore., April 3, 2006 – adidas announces
the launch of its global soccer advertising campaign
“Impossible Team” for the 2006 FIFA World
Cup™ in Germany featuring the world’s best
soccer players from the past and present. adidas is
the exclusive athletic brand advertiser for the English
language broadcast of all 64 matches during the 2006
FIFA World Cup™ on ABC and ESPN affiliates.
The new TV campaign tells the story of two kids picking
their all-time greatest soccer team. The campaign celebrates
the magic of team and features many of today’s
greatest players such as Zinédine Zidane, David
Beckham, Michael Ballack, Kaká, Frank Lampard,
Arjen Robben, Juan Román Riquelme and Raúl
combined with soccer heroes from the past such as Franz
Beckenbauer and Michel Platini. The first of the new
commercials will premiere on April 4 and 5 during the
UEFA Champions League™ quarter-finals.
“Soccer is all about the power of individuals
coming together as a team. With ‘Impossible Team’
we take our previously launched +10 campaign to the
next level and clearly communicate the idea of ‘team’
and our brand attitude “Impossible is Nothing”
in an inspirational way. With this campaign we will
continue to create excitement for our brand,”
said Erich Stamminger, President and CEO of the adidas
Brand and Executive Board member of the adidas group.
”Impossible Team” is an integrated global
advertising campaign including global and local versions
for TV, cinema, print, outdoor, point-of-sale, public
relations and on-line and kicks off on April 4, followed
by a global roll-out leading to the FIFA World Cup™.
The campaign, developed by adidas’ global advertising
agency independent 180 Amsterdam and directed by the
highly acclaimed commercial director Ivan Zacharias,
centers on the two 60-second films “Equipo”
and “Partido”.
“Equipo”
60’:
The first film shows how José and Pedro, two
little Spanish-speaking kids, get to pick their own
team. However, instead of picking kids from their local
school or neighborhood, Pedro and José get to
pick their dream team consisting of international football
stars from the past and present. Their impossible fantasy
quickly turns into reality and José and Pedro’s
teams are actually lining up. José and Pedro
have picked their +10 and are getting ready to play
the biggest game of their life…
”Partido”
60’:
“Partido” will be the second commercial
within the TV campaign and air during the 2006 FIFA
World Cup™. In “Partido” the teams
of Pedro and José actually play each other. Pedro
and José are in control of the game and their
team: Kaká gets sent off and Jermain Defoe is
chosen to go in the goal, a role which he puts his heart
and soul into, even if he only uses his legs. This execution
celebrates the beauty of the actual game but also references
the FIFA World Cup™ Final of ’66 in which
England meets Germany, however this time with Frank
Lampard in the role of English “goal scorer”
and Oliver Kahn defending the German goal.
“The adidas commercial for the FIFA World Cup™
is based on our own childhood memory. In fact I think
it’s the same for every little kid nowadays. After
watching a soccer game, we used to run outside, recreate
our own teams and re-play the match we had just seen.
We tried to make every little kid’s dream come
alive - getting to pick your own team and being able
to choose from the world’s biggest soccer stars!”
commented 180’s co-executive creative director
Andy Fackrell.
Source: adidas America
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