A stranded fish thrashes in the middle of a city street, struggling for survival. A super identifies the location as Kiki Square, 25 miles above sea level. In the background, we see the wreckage of a traffic accident. Presumably the fish was flung from its H2O container which had been aboard one of the vehicles. The people involved in the accident are oblivious to the fish’s plight.
A series of colorful eyewitnesses tell the story. "The poor fish was just looking as if it were screaming for water," a middle-aged woman recounts.
A younger lady seated in her car continues the tale: "It was just lying there dying, and nobody was helping it."
"Until," says the first woman, "this big man came along and picked up the fish and he just shot down the road. … His muscles were bulging and he was just holding the fish just so tight."
The "big man" is the famous rugby player Jonah Lomu. We see him enter the scene, grab the fish and begin the race for its survival. Wearing a pair of adidas shoes, Lomu zips through the city. Along the way, he runs through a car wash to replenish the fish’s gills with water.
Interspersed with Lomu’s jaunt are additional eyewitness accounts from local characters, one of which describes the car wash leg of the dash.
In the stretch run, Lomu runs into a van backing out of an alley. He bounces off the vehicle, throwing his shoulder into it as if it were a competing rugby player. Undeterred, Lomu finally arrives at his goal. He makes a jump for the finish line, which for him is the edge of the dock. Laid out in mid-horizontal leap, he throws the lucky fish into the ocean.
"He was just on his last gasp," a local says. The eyewitness concludes that "wearing adidas makes you more caring about fish, elephants, cats, alligators and even people." Indeed, Lomu’s trek exemplifies the supered campaign mantra: "adidas makes you better."
"Jonah Lomu" was conceived by a team from Amsterdam agency 180, and is part of a campaign that’s currently running in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The 180 ensemble included creative director Larry Frey, associate creative director/copywriter Lorenzo De Rita, art director Dean Maryon, producer Jackie Adler and strategic planner Alex Melvin.
The spot was directed by Fredrik Bond of Harry Nash Productions, London. The U.K.-based Bond, who is Swedish, helmed the entire campaign, which consisted of three other spots in which athletes (tennis star Anna Kournikova, sprinter Ato Boldon and soccer player David Beckham) apply their prowess to civic-minded endeavors.
Julia Reed executive produced and Helen Williams served as producer for Harry Nash. "Jonah Lomu" was shot on location in Auckland, New Zealand, by DP Carl Nilsson.
Editor was Rick Russell of Final Cut, London. Post house The Mill, London, had a trio on the job: Flame artist Dave Smith, colorist Paul Harrison and producer Andy Barmer. Music was composed by Mike Hewer of Amber Music, London.
