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Football

03rd Jun 2018

WATCH: New Nike advert starring the Brazil squad is everything you hoped it would be

Twenty years later, it's just as cool

Reuben Pinder

They’ve made another one

In 1998, Nike made a commercial that transcended advertising. It was basically a short film. Adverts had never been so cool. Not only did every little boy want to have the stuff the ad was presenting, but they wanted to be in the advert.

The ad featured the Brazil squad, famously the coolest footballing nation on the planet, bored while waiting for a flight. So they entertained themselves the only way they know how: by playing football. This advert was an up yours to every parent who had told their kids not to play football in the house. If Roberto Carlos is pinging balls around an airport, I will kick my sponge ball against a wall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YePFGhCC7ro&t=29s

It instantly became a classic and has since been the benchmark for how to strike the perfect balance between promotion and entertainment.

Well, great news. They’ve made another one to mark the 20 year anniversary. Neymar has stepped into Ronaldo’s shoes and is the ideal poster boy for Nike to focus their new film around, in which Ronaldo does make a cameo.

Enjoy the film in all its glory here.

Brazil could have done with the kid at the end to give a team talk before their semi-final against Germany four years ago.