Nike football adverts have gone down in lore in recent years
From the Nike World Cup 1998 ad featuring the entire Brazil team playing stunning football in an airport terminal, to The Mission from 2000, which follows Edgar Davids, Lilian Thuram, Pep Guardiola, Francesco Totti and more attempting to – yes – carry out a mission to steal a football of some kind from a group of what appear to be robot ninjas.
There was also one of the most fondly remembered, 2002’s The Cage, which featured some of the world’s best players (and Eric Cantona) playing what resembled some kind of death match on board an enormous ship in the middle of the ocean.
Recent years have seen them produce some memorable efforts, such as 2007’s Take It To The Next Level, which featured first person perspectives of some of the world’s best on the pitch, and tracked the story, without dialogue, of someone making their way up the football ladder, before becoming a star.
There have been plenty since and between those however which, while interesting at the time, failed to truly hit the mark. Their latest offering though, called Awaken the Phantom, appears to be a rip-roaring return to form.
The ad features a number of huge names, notably Philippe Coutinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Neymar, Ronaldinho and Andrea Pirlo, and is set in a world where people – both fans and footballers alike – are discussing the “Phantom”, a seemingly mythical footballer which also happens to be the name of some new Nike boots.
Now, I’m not going to spoil it for you but I will say: it features an evil Andrea Pirlo, I think it is great and you should watch it. Let us know if you agree.
