Sunday, September 24, 2006

Rant! Rant! Rant!

What I want to know is this: Wtf, no seriously, wtf were the people at Nike thinking when they decided to commission this ad??!!
Were they thinking at all?? I would venture to guess not. Sods. When I saw it for the first time I wanted to take my Nikes and burn them(1). Rest assured, I’m not buying anything from Nike anymore(2).

Then again, on repeated views there’s a ridiculously funny side to it. Zidane is more lethal than bowling balls, American football players, trucks and aerial swinging machines. Is that what you’re saying Nike? Cos Marco boy went down like a ton of bricks with that one head butt. 'Every athlete has his own inner armour'(3), my foot.
Meh. And where are they going to air this craptacular ad? In Italy? And where else? And so much for everyone moving on(4).

Whatever, I just needed to rant to get this out of my system.
Materazzi, I don’t care if you were paid $50,000 for the ad. The bottom line is this: Zidane owns your sorry ass. So there.

1: Well, I’d really like to do that but they are the only running shoes I have. And I don’t have money to buy new ones. It’s the thought that counts right?
2: Well, not for eons anyway.
3: That’s the tag line.
4: I demand Adidas come up with a re-butt-al ad.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

i heard about this ad. milking the head-butt for what its worth, doubtless.
although i think the ad may have been more successful if they had taken the zidane perspective. have him go around head-butting cows and cars and buildings. though maybe that would have been closer to some sort of incitement towards violence, and the french would have gone crazy. you may have liked it though hehehe.
i don't know. flippancy seems to be the way to go, as far as these ads are concerned.

fyn scarlet reed said...

Here via Roswitha! Materazzi is such an idiot that that ad made me chuckle. (I seem to be in the unenviable position of at once liking France and supporting Italy, hmm.) I can't believe how much people on either side of this whole overblown debate (including Sepp Bloater) are STILL going on about an incident, that, in the end, reminds me more of 'Top 10 Freak Incidents' tv shows than anything.

As for Nike, Adidas, and all the rest. All of them have a rather strong snooty/sweatshoppy stench - am sticking to brandless local footwear as usual ;]

roswitha said...

Dude, wtf? Is this a stupid ad or WHAT? Not that I wear Nikes, anyway. I think they've recruited a bunch of calciatores to pimp their sweatshop-ware, though: last I heard Cannavaro was going to be modelling their tee-shirts. I have faith that he'll be a little less devoid of expression than Marco.

What a dumb ad.

Not but that Marco's actually being pretty good for Internazionale at the moment.

Szerelem said...

Cyberswami: hmmm am not too sure I would think an ad was in good taste if they took the ZZ perspective. Plus, everyone’s already come out with videos parodying the head butt. Not to mention that god awful song! I still maintain that Zidane should have one on a rampage after he got the red card and butted down half the Italian side – at least France would have won then. And I mean, what punishment could FIFA give him? He was retiring anyway and he already had the red card! Ok, ill stop being silly now.

Hamlet: I agree!! Materazzi IS an idiot! And agree 100% that people really need to move on. But am giving up (or rather have given up) hope of that happening anytime soon. I think Zidanes the only ones who’s moved on actually. Everyone else keeps brining it up.
P.S: I LOVE your sketches….they are fab!!oh, and thanks for visitin.

Ros: Wtf indeed. Every time I see Marco I just want to punch him…he totally pisses me off. Though now I just LMAO at the ad. I don’t have a TV and hate that I can’t watch football live =(!! Still, hope Materazzi ends up having a shit season. Ya, am terribly petty…but whatever.

Also, you guys made me feel terribly bad about the fact that I actually wear Nikes. Which is only cos they were bought on (a very very good) sale and also cos I really do need good running shoes that don’t wear out soon. Gosh I come off really badly, don’t I?

Aishwarya said...

Good grief.

I'll stick to Puma, thankyouverymuch!

also, LOL.

km said...

Not too sure when this one was released, but this commercial's real crime is that it is 3 months too late. The amateur parodists on the web beat 'em hollow.

Panacea said...

I am very happy with my Pumas :)

Materazzi is such a jerk. When we saw him live at a concert (this was less than a week after the World Cup win) he came on stage and started singing a silly song whose translated version goes something like, 'Whoever does not stand up and jump is French'. I plainly refused to stand up or jump even though I suppored Italy for the World Cup. hmph. That was my little way of showing him how much I dislike him.

Hmm, this advert hasnt released in Italy yet though.

Szerelem said...

aishwarya: =D and Pumas are good. Why didn't I think of them?!!

km: yep, the parodies on the net are way, way, way better than this ad. But then again, there's not much (if anything) from Materazzi's perspective, so i guess thats what Nike was aiming at.

panacea: Wow.He's more of a jerk than I thought. I would think very few players generate as much bad will as Materazzi.
Also, and totally besides the point.....you're in Milan!! I'm visiting in decemebr!!

GhostOfTomJoad said...

I'm not such a crazy Zidane fan but I do like him. In the last few years, I don't think anyone had greater ball control. Having said that, I feel we're mixing up issues here...just because Zidane was such a great player he has no right to go around head-butting people. Even if they say what Materazzi said. If you've played any sport at any serious level, you'll know that far worse things are said on the field. It's not right and it shouldn't happen but it does. So, to blame Materazzi and absolve Zidane is ridiculous. Both are equally guilty. And, remember, this is not the first time Zidane's been violent on the field. He has hit people before this as well.

Panacea said...

Oooh, it's going to be cold here in December. You'll have to come equipped with a thick coat. But the good part is that you'll get to see the Christmas lights in december. Milan's beautiful during Christmas!

MockTurtle said...

I actually thought the ad was sort of funny - in an over-the-top Italian sort of way.

roswitha said...

Ahahaha, Puma officially sponsors the Azzurri. I should buy new sneakers and I have to resist the temptation to go Puma because, hello, actually buying the marketing spiel would be thoroughly lame on my part.

I might go for Adidas. Lovely ads, good shoes. Little Jose!!

Szerelem said...

ghost: I don't disagree with what you saying about Zidane. And I have never ever, ever said what he did in the final was justified. But that still doesn't take away from the fact that this ad is really in bad taste. Quite frankly, I dont even get the point it's trying to get across by parodying the headbutt.

Panacea: I'll be in Milan on Christmas day! I've heard its very beautiful..am excited!!

MT: I guess it is funny. But also dumb and a cheap shot.

Ros: Little Jose is too cute. Adidas does have the best ads and good shoes. And they sponsor ZZ..ahaha...i'll probably buy Adidas if I have to...