Andrew Boulton's World Cup ad reviews: Subway, Pele and Daniel Sturridge
If I told you I was going to show an advert for oversized sandwich-mongers Subway, starring churlish England footballer Daniel Sturridge and perennial product endorser Pele, I’d be very surprised if you didn’t chop me in the gullet and run away.
And I certainly wouldn’t blame you. Those particular ingredients add up to a televisual baguette that’s less appealing than the act of coprophagy (a posh word for eating your own poo).
But before you start to lather your own fecal waste with Nandos Wild Herb sauce, here’s some surprising news. The advert is actually rather charming.
We follow the progress of a young Sturridge who, in his dreams of emulating his hero Pele spends an entire childhood perfecting his overhead kick. Young Dan’s earliest attempts see him unintentionally vandalise parked cars, knock down a postman and generally leave himself in a crumpled mess on the floor. That is until Pele offers him some wise words which young Daniel somehow interprets by going to Subway.
Admittedly, Sturridge delivers his only line as if someone is drilling holes in his elbows. And yes, Pele would come out in support of UKIP, badger culling and licking the inside of wheelie bins if you paid him enough (which I assume is about £11 and a Greggs cheese and bean bake). But for some reason the advert is far more than the sum of its questionable parts.
The most refreshing part of the advert is that for once a professional footballer does not have to be portrayed as a flawless superman, capable of a million keepy ups but incapable of having a giggle at his own expense. Sturridge to his credit is a good sport. The ad is in no way a shrine to his personal and professional brilliance and while the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo would only eat a Subway sandwich if it contained nothing but his own magnificent self, Sturridge comes out of this looking likeably self-aware.
Credit to Subway too for it seems to have finally decided how it can use the various athletes it recruits at no small cost. Following some awkward and tenuous adverts over the Olympics with the likes of gymnast, dancer and immaculate beardist Louis Smith, Subway have given a little more story and heart to the campaign. At least now we don’t just have two entirely unrelated athletes unconvincingly bickering over whether one’s Chicken Teriyaki is better than the other's Big Meaty Tasty. And as we all know, if it’s not a foot long meatball sub with extra cheese you might as well just be eating fistfuls of dust and regret.
Subway may not be the likeliest of World Cup sponsors but unlike other brands with far more right to operate in that space, it has created something relatable that actually portrays an England footballer in a rather positive light. Maybe next we’ll see John Terry win us all over with a heart-warming commercial for kittens and freshly baked cupcakes. Before he sleeps with your wife. And your mum.