In a web spot directed by Dutch director Sven Super of Amsterdam-based Christel Palace for EA Sports’ FIFA 08, two gamers approach football superstar Ronaldinho while he is barbecuing at a birthday party in a samba hall. With a makeshift monitor and a console and a healthy dose of confidence, they challenge him to replicate one of the goals his virtual counterpart makes in the video game. He not only accepts the challenge but delivers, dazzling onlookers and the gamers. Two additional web spots and three TV spots make up the “Can You FIFA 08” campaign created by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam.
“A lot of sporting titles leverage the fact that famous athletes inform the creation of their game,” said Eric Quennoy, creative director at W+K. “The breakthrough for us was when we decided to flip that on its head. Instead we wanted the game to inform how the athletes play. Here we want to say the game has reached such a level that it can inform the athletes. It’s the idea of gamers creating spectacular goals scored by Ronaldinho or Franck Ribery or Wayne Rooney and then going up to the athletes themselves and saying, ‘Hey can you do something as good as what we’ve created using your ingame character.”
Hence the line, Can You FIFA 08?
In the other web spots, the gamers challenge Rooney while he is hitting golf balls with Sergio Ramos, and they approach Ribery and Miroslav Klose while they are getting suits fitted at a high-end tailor. Thirty-second TV spots feature the front end of the challenge and give viewers a feel for the concept. Then they are asked to visit www.canyoufifa08.com and see the 90-second web spots to determine whether or not the athletes successfully replicated the goals simulated by their virtual conterparts. To make the web experience more engaging, there are hot spots embedded in the web spots that visitors can click on to see additional behind-the- scenes footage of the athletes. The website also features interactive games and FIFA 08 tutorials.
“With the TV spots we wanted to create such a level of suspense that viewers really wanted to know if the athletes could pull off the moves the gamers scored themselves and then drive them to the website,” said Quennoy, adding that in both the TV and web spots he really wanted audiences to feel like they were a fly on the wall, observing every suspenseful moment.
To achieve that aesthetic the creative team tapped Super, who they had never worked with before. Quennoy said it was difficult to get a director to commit a month to the project. It was necessary to commit to that big of a window of time because the athletes were noncommital about the dates they could participate in the shoot. W+K producer Olivier Klonhammer suggested Christel Palace and the rest was “serendipity,” according to Quennoy. “Sven is just a rock star. His film is absolutely beautiful. He is also the nicest, sweetest, most collaborative guy in the world. And having him based locally meant that we could sit down with him every night and really nut out the scripts. So many times you work with directors who you only meet a couple of days before the pre-pro, and then you’re straight into the shoot. In this case we created a tremendous rapport with him and by the time we were shooting we were all completely and utterly on the same page.
“I’ve never had such a level of collaboration before. It was great. I would shoot with him anytime. He’s brilliant.”
All of the footage for the TV and web spots was shot using Kodak 16mm film to give it a gritty feel. Super had three Arri SR3 cameras rolling at the same time. “Sven’s work has a cinematic feel to it. He captures small movements and gestures and nothing is overplayed,” he said.
While the spots capture genuine reactions and little moments when the athletes are off their guard, the additional web footage shows tender moments behind the scenes. For instance, the creatives put a ball in a chair wearing glasses and had the ball interview the athletes. They also captured one of the art directors dressing up in a bunny suit and stealing Ramos’ golf cart as he is preparing for a putt.
“If you are a fan of the game and these athletes, you always like to see this sort of stuff,” said Quennoy.
It was not all fun and games on set though, he admitted, explaining that this was one of the most intense shoots he’s ever done. It took place across three countries–Czech Republic, the U.K. and Brazil. The locations for the Rooney and Ronaldinho shoots were changed at the last minute because it wouldn’t stop raining. For example the original concept had Ronaldinho barbecuing in the backyard of a mansion that was supposed to be his house. Two days before the shoot they found an old samba hall and made changes accordingly.
“It took a lot of bravery on the part of the client,” said Quennoy. “Everyone chipped in and did the right thing and we pulled it off. The final shot of that day is the one at the end of the Ronaldinho spot where you see everyone piled in. If you extend that film about 10 seconds later you would have seen me and Sven running in and hugging Ronaldinho. It was unbridled joy that we pulled the thing off.
“What was rewarding for me personally was watching everyone–the agency, client, production company–with their noses in the same direction. It’s rare you manage to have that happen. I think that worked reall well and I think the films look good because of that.”
In addition to Quennoy, “Can You FIFA 08?” was created by interactive CD Joakim Borgström, with copywriter Mikey Farr and art director Craig Melchiano.
FCB Stays Atop The One Club’s Year-End Global Creative Rankings
FCB ended the year repeating its top positions in The One Club for Creativity’s Global Creative Rankings, with FCB New York again crowned Global Agency of the Year and FCB Global finishing as Agency Network of the Year for 2024.
The annual worldwide benchmark report is a comprehensive ranking of agencies, brands, countries, and individuals based on points earned from winning entries in The One Club’s eight global, regional, and local awards shows: The One Show 2024, ADC 103rd Annual Awards, Type Directors Club TDC70 competition, Art Directors Club of Europe ADCE Awards 2024, ONE Asia Creative Awards 2024, and The One Club Denver, San Diego, and Miami chapter 2024 awards programs.
“The Global Creative Rankings is the industry’s most comprehensive and transparent ranking,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “There are no secret weightings in calculating the rankings, and unlike others, it’s not hidden behind a paywall. As the industry’s foremost nonprofit organization for the global creative community, The One Club is in a unique position to provide this free, definitive measure for global creative excellence to everyone in the industry.”
Highlights of the Global Creative Rankings 2024 are below.
Global Agency Rankings
FCB New York
Rethink Toronto
McCann New York
TBWAMedia Arts Lab Los Angeles
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Dentsu Inc. Tokyo
FCB Chicago
Marcel Paris
VML New York
Ogilvy PR New York, Publicis Conseil Paris (tie)
Independent Agency Rankings
Rethink Toronto
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Wieden+Kennedy Portland
Brand-Side Agency... Read More