Nike provided a challenge to the USA’s blindness to world football (soccer) with FC USA, a TV ad, in September 2005. The commercial contrasts the blind prejudice against soccer felt by sports commentators obsessed with NRL, basketball and baseball, with the passion expressed by soccer players on the ground.
The spot opens with aerial views of fields and courts marked out for various sports codes, while a sports-radio commentator says “Let’s take two minutes to talk about soccer, which is about two minutes longer than it deserves.” In conjunction with the radio announcer’s rant the spot moves to North Americans playing soccer in cane fields, on the street, in the rain, on tennis and basketball courts, on baseball fields. Finally, we see a stadium packed with fans watching the national USA soccer team in action. “OK. Let’s take two seconds to talk about soccer. Which is about two seconds longer than it deserves. Real men don’t play soccer. Let’s be honest. Soccer isn’t important to anyone in this country. Let’s leave it that way”. The Nike FCUSA ad finishes with the tagline, “Just Do It” and the website address, nikesoccer.com.
Credits
Nike FCUSA was developed at advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, by creative directors Hal Curtis and Mike Byrne, art director Matt Stein, copywriters Alberto Ponte and Dylan Lee, and agency producer Andrew Loevenguth.
Filming was shot by director Malcolm Venville via Anonymous Content with directors of photography Max Malkin and Emmanuel Lubezki.
Editing for Nike FC USA was done by Angus Wall and Brad Waskewich at Rock Paper Scissors.
Visual effects were developed at A52, Los Angeles, by Flame artists Scott Johnson, Ben Looram, Justin Blaustein and Ryan Yoshimoto.
Sound was designed by Loren Silber and Rohan Young at Lime Studios, Santa Monica.
FCUSA Team
Members of the United States national soccer team featured are Tim Howard, DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra, Eddie Johnson, Clint Dempsey, and Freddy Adu.
Go Tell The World
The sound track is “Go Tell The World”, performed by Joy Zipper, an indie pop duo from Long Island New York, made up of Tabitha Tindale and Vincent Cafiso. Partners in songwriting, as well as in real life, the duo have been crafting summery, ethereal dream pop since the late 90’s. The band is named for Tindale’s mother. See the Joy Zipper MySpace site. Go Tell the World is featured on The Heartlight Set (2005) available from Amazon.co.uk
Lyrics for Go Tell The World
Go tell the world,
Tell it i’m on fire,
My wings are burning
Speak through me won’t you please
Go tell the world
We’ve been here for too long,
And now we’re gone, oh so gone,
So tell the world, tell it to go on
Go tell it right,
One up one down,
Me i’m doin circles and you you’re doing lines
Go tell the world, you stayed awake too long,
And now we’re gone, oh so gone,
So tell the world, tell it to go on
This is not a happy song,
I wrote it to remember this,
I’m sorry but i have to say that every word
It’s true it’s true,
And now we’re gone, oh so gone,
So tell the world, tell it to go on