W+K Amsterdam launched a spot starring Lionel Messi promoting the release of EA Sports’ FIFA 15, entitled “The Bitter-Sweet Taste of Football.”
The spot sees Messi hooked up to a bizarre machine mining his tears of joy from victory and sadness from bitter defeat. As the tears make their way down the Wonka-esque contraption they pass screens showing in-game footage and finally are turned into bitter defeat dark chocolate and sweet victory white chocolate bars, which are then fused together and packaged (think Kit Kat). It’s an imaginative and visually intriguing approach to the usually predictable category of sports video game advertising, even if it doesn’t do a whole lot to highlight the game’s selling points (at this point, FIFA is such a dominant franchise that hardly seems necessary).
“Football is bitter-sweet. One moment you are crying the sweet tears of victory, and the next, you are crying the bitter tears of defeat,” explained W+K Amsterdam creative director David Smith. “So what better way to show the emotion of football than to make a chocolate bar from the tears of Lionel Messi? A man who feels football more than any other man in the world.”
Creating the crazy contraption was no simple feat. W+K Amsterdam teamed up with a team of engineers and industrial designers to bring the idea to life as an “actual, moving, spinning, 10-meter long installation complete with conveyor belt.” That sounds like a pretty impressive piece of machinery. And if it works well with Messi’s waterworks, imagine what it could do with the tears of unfathomable sadness.
Credits:
EA SPORTS
Group SVP, Global Marketing: Todd Sitrin
VP, Global Marketing: Jamie McKinlay
VP, Advertising & Design: Dana Marineau
Director, Creative Strategy: Dustin Shekell
Senior Manager, Creative Strategy: Mark Evans
Creative Strategy Manager: Anne Fournais
Campaign and Adaptation Manager: Clement Berta
Senior Manager, Global Product Marketing: Matt McKie
WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM
Executive Creative Director: Mark Bernath and Eric Quennoy
Creative Director: David Smith and Alvaro Sotomayor
Art Director: Max Gebhardt
Copywriter: Max Arlestig
Head of Broadcast Production: Joe Togneri
Broadcast Producer: Elissa Singstock
Associate Producers: Beau Brouwer, Judd Carraway
Planner: Ben Armistead
Group Account Director: Kirk Johnsen
Account Director: Nick Campion
Account Manager: Kerstin Haag
Project Manager: Janna Harrington
Business Affairs: Justine Young, Melissa Kincaid, Kacey Kelley
FILM PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION COMPANY: IMPERIAL WOODPECKER
Director: Mark Zibert
Director of Photography: Greig Fraser
Producer: Matt Wersinger
Executive Producer: Doug Halbert
EDITING COMPANY: WHITEHOUSE POST
Editor: Russell Icke
Assistant Editor: Iain Whiteright
AUDIO POST: GRAND CENTRAL RECORDING STUDIOS
Sound Designer/Mixer: Raja Sehgal
MUSIC: MASSIVEMUSIC AMSTERDAM
Artist / Title: EA Fifa Messi Chocolate Delight
Music Company: MASSIVE MUSIC AMSTERDAM
POST PRODUCTION: MPC
VFX Producer: Amy Richardson
VFX Supervisor: Iain Murray
3D Supervisor: Michael Diprose
Colourist: George K