An ode to "José + 10"
José + 10 is an advert that is run by Adidas during the FIFA world cup soccer 2006 as part of its "Impossible is nothing" campaign. Purely from a marketing mix point of view, we are still long ways from judging the efficacy of this commercial - assuming that we can measure it. But, from a sentimental perspective, this advert has caught the imagination of millions of adults. You can watch this promo at google video. In short, it is about 2 kids who are selecting a dream team to play for them and the moment they selected their hero, he comes to life and joins them in the dusty make-shift soccer field.
The way the emotions were captured were right on spot. Inside every adult there is a latent child. Especially for men, there is a dormant rebellious kid yearning for fufillment of a dream - conceived in childhood, fabricated against the backdrop of his favorite sport. Two kids challenging each other on a lazy afternoon, the seriousness with which the toss is handled, the macho mind games, the larger-than-life authoritarian disposition displayed when dismissing players and bringing the backups from the bench and the million dollar argument on whether it was a 'goal' or not - the producers had nailed the psychic excitement of an afficionado right on the money.
Last but not least, all this drama comes to a premature end when the one adult - his mother in this case, whose decree he cannot veto calls it a day with the death knell, "José!!!!!, Aa Casa!" with no respect or sympathy for the kid's dream. That is an absolutely brilliant end to this already excellent short film. As it happens in real life, when the kid who owns the gear goes home, the game is over. No one resists, calls him name or disparages his mom. An absolute melancholy congeniality prevails and other players empathize with José as this premature end is an unavoidable externality.
Hats off to you Adidas for touching me and the million other individuals at a personal level. Hopefully along the way you also will make some good shoes that I find worthwhile to buy from your outlets :)
Peace out
Sai.
posted by Sai G @ 12:55 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
The ad also touched my heart because most of the people will probably have already fantasized about playing with the best players in hot summer afternoon. I remember just sitting after playing some games trying to figure out what to play next.
I also like the exchange between the mother and the son. The mother is frustrated or angry due to some reason or for the fact that the kid is not studying..."JOSE!!" the look in Jose's eyes knowing that the game is about to be over and the cautious "Keee" hoping that she will say something except calling him home and the "Aaa Casa" crushing the child's hopes to continue on with the fantasy game. And of course at the end, the guy with the equipment has to take the expensive equipment and the game has to end. There is no question. Back to drab dreary afternoon. Simply amazing ad. I love it.
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