Nike's Awaken The Phantom ad exposes the fleet-footed fiends of football
Nike Football has created an action-packed video to promote its Phantom football boot line.
Nike's Awaken The Phantom
The two-and-a-half minute spot features football greats such as Phillipe Coutinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Ronaldinho, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Mal Pugh and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Neymar Jr, who recently defended his World Cup diving antics in a Gillette ad, is also included.
Hollywood director Matthew Vaughn of X-Men: First Class, Kingsman, Kick-Ass and Layer Cake fame brings Nike's 'Phantom' to life with his customary flair.
In the spot, a player wearing the Phantoms transcends his/her material state to becomes a lightning-fast wisp on the ball. Fleet-footed tricks occur, one where the ball disappears for few frames at a time to emphasise how the best player's speed, another sees multiple legs appear from the player to defend the ball and confound opponents.
The work from Wieden+Kennedy looks to show how players can build a reputation by being devilish in possession. From a local to a national level, they can build a mythology around their abilities.
Again, Nike intersects football with culture and the world of music; Nigerian rap star WizKid, Legendury Beatz, and Tiwa Savage make appear in the video which is scored with a mashup between Genesis and Heavy Metal by Justice.
The launch of the Nike PhantomVSN football boot coincided with the release of the video.
