As part of its latest marketing effort, Nike decided to let the world in on a little secret—a secret tournament that is, in which two dozen elite soccer players face off in a series of three-on-three matches.
But this is no ordinary game of what Europeans call football. Housed below the decks of a giant tanker, a large medieval cage doubles for a playing field. The surreal atmosphere—all dim lights, chains and steel—offers a hint of what is to come: a no-holds-barred competition that spares no sympathy for the losers. Presiding over the match is French soccer star-turned-actor Eric Cantona, whose referee character is reminiscent of some eccentric maestro from a Terry Gilliam film (Brazil).
That’s no coincidence, as Gilliam directed the three-minute Nike ad, "The Secret Tournament," which was created by Wieden+Kennedy (W+K), Amsterdam, and produced by the London office of bicoastal/international @radical.media. Milan-based Some Of Us provided production support to the 10-day Rome-based shoot. Exterior sequences of the tanker were filmed on location in a harbor about an hour north of Rome, while the interiors were shot at Filmhouse Studios, Rome.
"We wanted the spots to be real and also have an edge," explained W+K’s Paul Shearer, who with Glenn Cole shares creative director credit for the ad. "Mr. Gilliam has this in abundance." The goal of the campaign, Shearer added, was "to prove to football-mad kids that [Nike] knows and understands football. Hopefully, we have done this by showing brilliant football." Producing a three-minute version of "Tournament," he added, seemed a natural thing to do, given how much "great football" was captured on film.
"Tournament" opens on a wide shot of the ship. The sky is dark as several small boats carry the players to the giant vessel. The voiceover announces, "Hidden from the world, twenty-four elite players hold a secret tournament, with eight teams and only one rule." Aboard the tanker, two massive steel doors—decorated with the tournament’s scorpion insignia—slide open, revealing the players’ dark figures. Then we meet Cantona, who wears a dark suit and carries a cane. He picks up where the voiceover left off, laying down the only regulation: "First goal wins."
With that, the all-star games begin. Standing atop the cage, Cantona drops a gleaming silver soccer ball through a hatch door to the players inside, and the first two teams get to it. The hard-driving action on the field is urged on by the musical stylings of Elvis Presley. The King’s "A Little Less Conversation" was remixed for the spot by Tom Holkenborg at J-XL, Amsterdam.
The fast-paced film features some shrewd moves and unconventional tactics. Among the more memorable is Roberto Carlos’ scorpion kick. Clutching the ball between both feet, Carlos falls forward, catching himself with his hands and at the same time hurling the ball at the goal by curling his legs back like a scorpion’s tail. A healthy rivalry is evident, as at times the players wrestle and shove each other to the ground. In other scenes, goals are scored off the sides of the cage, off other players, even off Cantona’s head, when, at one point, the Frenchman peeks through the trap door and comes face-to-face with a flying ball.
With each goal, the losing team’s placard falls from a wall in a no-frills way of keeping score, and a new team takes the field. Eventually, only two teams remain and Cantona announces, "The Final!"
A hush falls as the players square off: Thierry Henry, Francesco Totti and Hidetoshi Nakata against Luis Figo, the aforementioned Carlos, and the mono-monikered Ronaldo. While waiting for Cantona to drop the ball into play, Henry whispers to Totti, who bends down as if to tie the laces of his Nike sneaker. Their opposition looks confused, but there is a strategy behind the gesture: As the ball drops into play, Henry steps back then leaps forward, launching himself into the air—springboard style—off Totti’s hunched back. Hurling himself at the ball, Henry head-butts it down the length of the field. Carlos backpedals and tries to block, but misses; it’s a goal. Cantona chuckles devilishly at the play.
A white Nike swoosh and "Nikefootball.com" appear supered on a black screen. The spot closes on a shot of several players jumping overboard into the harbor. Cantona’s voice can be heard ushering them off: "Losers go home. Bye-bye."
"The Secret Tournament" was also cut down to 60- and 30-second versions. And there are two :30s that focus on two particular games. Finally, the campaign includes "Rematch," which brings together the last two teams from the original spot. This time, the first to score 100 wins. The goals consist of hand-painted squares on the inside of the ship. But as the ball hammers the walls again and again, bolts begin to loosen. With the final goal, the bolts give way, and the ship springs a significant leak. Water sprays in as the players make a run for it. The spot ends with a shot of the half-sunk tanker and the players floating to safety on a raft.
W+K is calling "The Secret Tournament"—which, in addition to the TV spots, comprises cinema, print, outdoor, radio, Web and special-event advertising, as well as an interactive CD-ROM with a 3-D game—"one of Nike’s most innovative and integrated global football campaigns ever." Graphic teaser ads consisting of the scorpion logo were first unveiled around the world in March. The campaign went into full swing during April and May to coincide with soccer’s World Cup tournament in Japan and South Korea.
@radical.media co-proprietor Jon Kamen said Gilliam wanted to direct the spots, first and foremost, because "he’s a football fan, and he’d make himself a hero with his son, Harry." In addition, Kamen noted, "Conceptually, where [W+K] wanted to take it was very Gilliam-esque. It had Terry’s name all over it." Gilliam worked with production designer Eve Stewart and DP Nicola Pecorini to create the campaign’s surreal look.
According to Shearer, pre-production meant "watching over hundreds of hours of soccer footage to see what the players were good at," as well as "developing new and innovative moves with the players." Once the cameras began rolling, he said, they shot a combination of boarded out and ad-libbed play.
With production also came several inherent challenges. Some members of the agency and crew got seasick. As well, Shearer noted, "We all got wet."
Another difficulty, according to @radical.media executive producer/producer Tommy Turtle, was the limited availability of the two dozen soccer stars. "With athletes, you never know if they’re going to turn up, so we had to stay flexible to accommodate their schedules," he said. "To be honest, it was a nightmare."
For all that, however, the shoot was entertaining. W+K copywriter Tom Wolfe recalled, "The second we started putting the teams together and letting them play, you found yourself cheering and forgetting to watch the monitor, because you wanted to watch the game."
Russell Icke of The Whitehouse, London, cut the ads. "Russell was fantastic," noted Turtle. "He had to wade through about sixteen hours of footage and he did a great job." Post and visual effects, which consisted of some CGI added to the exterior shots where players are seen jumping from the ship, was done at The Mill, London. Jason Watts served as visual effects artist/ online editor. Fergus McCall was colorist.
All in all, Turtle recollected, the project "was a bit like going to war. At the time you’re just pleased to make it through each day. But afterward you kind of feel nostalgic and proud about the whole thing."
