Pepsi Max has released the latest instalment in its umbrella ‘Beats of the Beautiful Game’ World Cup ambush initiative in the form of a football-themed short film series which support the music-lead football initiative.
Beats Of The Beautiful Game is a collection of 11 football-inspired companion songs and short films and fronts a campaign that aims to celebrate the sights and sounds of football ahead of Brazil 2014 (and to ambush rival Coca-Cola’s official tournament sponsorship by driving conversation and creativity around the World Cup).
The series of short films sees the brand connect sounds and images through creative projects which put together both new and established musicians (such as Rita Ora, Jetta and Timbaland) with big name directors and actors (such as Spike Lee, Diego Luna and Elba).
The first short film released in the series is ‘Unstoppable’ – which explores the hidden talents within all of us.
It is a 70s-style, six-minute-plus footie film written and directed by Idris Elba and is the first movie from his new production company Green Door Productions.
The extended spot, set to the track ‘Unstoppable’ by DJ R3HAB and featuring the singer Eva Simons, tells the story of a seemingly geeky schoolboy who unveils secretly hidden soccer skills to defeat a playground bully and win the heart of his shy sweetheart.
‘When I first heard the song I really loved the idea of being unstoppable…it’s self belief, it’s someone that just says “Guess what? I can do anything I want to do,’ explains Elba.
‘I like the whole ’70s era, the haircuts and the style, and I chose a character that is stereotypically a nerd, isn’t sporty looking…but [it] turns out that he really is good at [football], and he is unstoppable when he starts to let himself go.’
Other films and track partnerships include Don Omar and Jessy Terrero’s ‘Pura Vida’,
and Janelle Monáe and the Young Astronaut’s David Bowie cover ‘Heroes’:
The album and film series is part of a wider 2014 integrated Pepsi Max football campaign, which also includes a ‘Live For Now’ fashion collection.
Pepsi Max also revealed via a tweet that it would be previewing its ‘Beats of the Beautiful Game’ album on newly released social media app Tunepics, while the films and soundtracks are available on iTunes at http://bit.ly/itunes-unstoppable (International) and http://smarturl.it/PepsiBOTBG (USA)
Comment
The initiative claims to be the world’s first visual soundtrack: 11 anthemic songs and companion short films (described as ‘filmtracks) that try to capture the indelible spirit of the world’s most popular game – futbol).
The approach reflects PepsiCo’s wider tactic of blending entertainment genres – most notable the leading two spaces of sport and music – within its marketing initiatives, sponsorship campaigns and guerrilla work.
By mixing music and art there are not only more creative touch points, but also an opportunity to leverage more Pepsi-sponsored ambassadors within the campaigns and to connect with as wide a global demographic as possible.
Master brand Pepsi’s own World Cup ambush work follows a similar route with footballers and musicians fronting the central ‘Now Is What You Make It’ Brazil 2014 campaign.
This was led by a spearhead TV spot which featured not only many of the brand’s leading football ambassadors, but also linked to another track on The Beats Of The Beautiful Game album – Janelle Monáe’s cover of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ which sees Young Astronauts direct its accompanying movie.
Links
Film YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kng5E-ITyyU
Pepsi Beats of the Beautiful Game Website
Brazil 2014 World Cup Website
FIFA Website
