adidas Predator X - power redefined

Global football is dominated by three brands - adidas, Nike, and Puma. These brands battle it out each year with new innovations being the trump card for product releases. The most famous name from the adidas brand is the Predator which built its name on a simple innovation. In 1992 the brand brought out the boot incorporating rubber strips that were designed to increase swerve and bend on the ball. The boots quickly became best sellers and adidas went about signing up the most exciting players at the time to be their ambassadors. Klinsmann, Gasgoine, and Del Piero were three of the first players to wear the iconic and Del Piero, who is still playing today, continues to wear the Predator.

Over the last 15 years adidas has released a total of 9 versions of the famous boot, all being an improvement on the last. This November sees the release of the tenth generation of the boots, the Predator X. Ahead of the World Cup adidas needed to an impact with this release and improvements to the boot make it sound as though it'll be a certain winner. The official techical breakdown lists two key features;

1. The Powerspine  - a revolutionary centre to the boot that minimises the energy lost when a player strikes the ball, transferring this energy to ensure maximum connection with the ball.   The result of this innovation is an additional 7% extra power versus the previous generation of Predator boots.

2. A newly designed Predator zone - containing a mix of rubber and silicon the re-positioned zone increases swerve in all weather conditions. A Taurus leather core combined with Thermoform memory foam and Optifit technology creates a lightweight fit that lasts.

Alongside the usual bout of player testing and involvement, the Predator X was crafted by one of the most technically gifted players of all time - Zinedine Zidane. Zidane has worn Predators throughout his career and for the Predator X he was heavily invovled in the R&D for the boot. The image below is a still from the link above which shows Zidane being interviewed about his famous Predator moments and then shows him testing the boots. By the look of the film he is still absolutely world class.

adidas symbols wearing the Predator X will include Steven Gerrard, Karim Benezema, David Beckham, and Michael Ballack. The worlds most famous boot is back, with a bang.

Go to http://www.adidas.com/football to find out more information.

Two Champions in two years - the British ruling F1!

This weekend in Brazil Jenson Button sealed his first Formula 1 Drivers title, the second year in a row a British driver has taken the Championship. The link above takes you to the BBC Iplayer coverage of Button taking 5th place in the weekends race which was enough to give him the title he had waited so long for.

The 29 year old had a difficult time with the Honda team during the last few seasons and when Ross Brawn took charge of the new Brawn GP team no one was sure how Button would fair. Some thought that the forgotton man of F1 would continue to struggle and waste another season, others thought that his true class would shine through in the Mercedes powered car. In the end, the genius of Ross Brawn, combined with the excellent debut Brawn GP car gave Button the edge and confidence to achieve his life-long goal.

But where now for Brawn GP and Button? Sponsors will be lining up to jump on the success of the team and Button and both deserve all the opportunities that come their way after a fantastic season. However, will the fabulous performance be a flash in the pan? Firstly Barrichello will almost certainly leave the team and they will require a top replacement to give the team the strength they had this season. Secondly McClaren and Ferrari will not be happy with their 2009 seasons and will look to really step it up next year. The drivers they have in Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are some of the most naturally talented drivers in F1 history and they will be battling it out with Button to take control of next season. Brawn GP certainly won't have it easy and its sure to be close run thing in 2010.

the art of stand up comedy

Stand up comedy has got to be one of the strangest professions in the world. As a sucessful stand up comic members of the general public will pay quite large sums of money to come and see you stand on a stage and talk for a few hours. As a band or solo artist people will pay money to see you because they are fans of your music. As an athlete people will pay money to see you because they are a fan of your team or because what you are doing consitutes performance at a higher than average level. As an actor people will pay to see you use your talent to portray a character and tell a story. As a comedian people are paying to see you be funny, to largely just be yourself which must be a fantastic but at the same time baffling feeling.

I recently saw Michael McIntyre at Wembley Arena as part of his 2009 Arena Tour. He is a fantastic comedian, one who doesn't rely on being crude or picking on audience members for laughs. A genuinely hilarious and intelligent stand up. However it was still difficult to get my head around the amount people (around 12,000) who had paid £30 to come and see him "be funny". I feel jealous of his friends who get him being funny all the time, for free!

Anyway if you haven't come across him yet click on the link above for a 5minute highlight reel.

FIFA 10 - advert making 101

In the video game world there is probably no bigger face off each year than the battle between EA Sports FIFA franchise and Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer. Each year the combined sales figures of the titles make up a huge percentage of the overall games market and with that number growing year on year both publishers have more cash to splash on making their latest installment the must have game of the football season.

Until recently Pro Evolution Soccer had trumped FIFA on the most important aspect of all: gameplay. Even though FIFA has always been graphically superior and had all the licenses money can buy, Pro Evo has traditionally been the game for true football fans. However, for the last few years FIFA has been getting their game together and the developers over at Konami haven't been able to respond. By all accounts this years FIFA 10 is set to be the best yet and will finally fully surpass Pro Evo in the popularity stakes.

One thing FIFA has almost always got right are their adverts and the commercial for FIFA 10 is no exception. Their tried and tested formula of the past few years is as follows;
1. Recruit top real life footballers - Rooney, Benzema, and Xavi star in this years ad to name but a few
2. Put them together with real fans/FIFA players - this years version sees the pros playing amongst a whole group of fans
3. Show some cleverly shot gameplay - a rotating camera with changing team views really works well
4. Throw in some cinematic location shots - this years is about as iconic as you can get
5. A decent soundtrack and voiceover - see for yourself!

Watch the ad linked above and try to resist thinking about how many days it is until you can lay your hands on EA's latest masterpiece.

kit to wear under your kit

A recent innovation from sportswear manufacturers is the concept of compression clothing to wear under your sports kit. adidas have their techfit range, under armour have a set of performance gear, and Nike have their NikePRO range. The image above and link are for the new NikePRO collection which stars Adrian Peterson, arguably the greatest running back currently playing american football. An excellent iconic commercial with the range of kit being part of Peterson instead of something he just wears.

More and more resources from the big manufacturers are going into trying to make their compression kit the must have with Peterson the most recent in a long line of worldwide superstars across a variety of sports to be used to showcase the range. However, what are the actual benefits of using this sort of kit?

The adidas techfit range has the following benefits;

- the kit focuses energy where it is needed most generating greater explosiveness at critical moments

- techfit is designed with superior stability to enhance strength, flexibility and power

- the seamless garments from the range increase oxygen flow through the body to the muscles and reduce vibration in core muscle groups

- climacool technology increases ventilation to keep body temperature low

- greater stability in key areas including lower back, torso, and abdomen improve overall balance and diminishes the chances of injury

With the proven scientific benefits and high profile athletes endorsing the various ranges investment in this kit seems like a wise move that will enhance sports performance.

meeting a sporting legend

As a general sports enthusiast it is a pleasure to work in the field that is my passion. A massive perk of working within this arena is that sometimes, on very rare occasions, you get to meet sportsmen and women who are true legends and giants of sport. This slightly self-indulgent post is frankly a big boast about how I was lucky enough to meet Jonny Wilkinson yesterday. The Rugby World Cup winner and all round English hero is now based in Toulon and I was involved with some promotional activity he was taking part in. A genuinely nice, intelligent and eloquent guy who deserves the adulation he receives. Like every other England fan I am keeping my fingers crossed that one of best number 10s of recent times can stay fit for the upcoming Autumn Internationals, Six Nations, and the 2011 World Cup. If you don't share this sentiment click on the link above for a 2minute summary of why England are an entirely different prospect with him in the team.

Todays selection of imagery

 

Not a great deal of point to this point I'm afraid - just an example of randomness and variety of stuff being uploaded to the internet everyday

The greatest tennis player ever gets even better

 

This looks like it is about to be crucial point for Novak Djokovic from this weekends US Open Tennis event. Djokovic was 2 sets down, 5-6 down, and love-30 down but this was the shot that would turn the game around. Roger Federer, officially the worlds greatest tennis player, is on the back foot and a lob from the advancing Djokovic sends him chasing a lost cause to the back on the court.

Against any other player this shot would have made it 15-30 and would have put the pressure back on Federer, but he is not just any player. Click on the link above to see how Federer plays this unbelievable shot to leave a gobsmacked Djokovic feeling supremely beaten.

You should't laugh, but...

 

Not much point to this post I'm afraid other than the fact I got sent this and it made me laugh, when it probably shouldn't have. A valiant attempt by a school orchestra to play the famous opening to Stanley Kubricks "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Pretty damn terrible but also pretty damn entertaining

don't quit the day job

 

A recent list, compiled by Empire magazine, revealed 25 movie stars who sing. The talent on show varies from the gifted Russell Crowe to the vocally challenged Eddie Murphy. A massive variety of styles and genres exist within the list but the general feeling is that these guys and gals should stick to their dayjobs. Aside from some rare exceptions (Milla Jovovich being one) these people were made to act and its just not fair for them to have two dream jobs.

The picture above represents everything that is bad about movie stars straying into the music world - William Shatner. The two images are linked to below and are clips displaying his musical "talent". One is Shatner doing a spoken word version of Elton John's Rocketman, the second is him rapping about Shakespeare. Madness.

Shatner rapping at this link

Shatner the rocketman at this link

The new secret weapon of the police

 "Its not a job, its an adventure"
Is the line Steven Seagal uses to finish this teaser for a new TV show, imaginatively called;
Steven Seagal: Lawman

The premise is simple: for the last 20 years, in between making martial arts films, that have all had roughfully the same plot, Seagal has been serving as a cop in a small American province. The new series follows his job/adventure as a "normal" cop on the beat.

Utterly ridiculous, but if it ever makes it onto UK television I think it might have a Dog the Bounty Hunter type addictive-ness to it.

Can clever marketing alter taste?

Lager is one of those funny products where it is as much about the image of  the product as it is about the taste, which is why lager brands spend incredibe sums of money on trying to make their brand cool.

If successful, clever marketeers can make people think their beer tastes good, even when it doesn't. The above ads are simple, but cool - CDs and pizza boxes. Heineken like to promote themselves as premium lager and stylised communications help them do this.

Coors Light is a great example of where a lager has decided its strategy should be to make everyone think of mountains, fresh air, and the cold whenever they see it. "The Taste of the Rockies" has no real factual basis to it - its brewed in Burton! However, if you ask someone to describe what its like with a couple of adjectives they will almost definitely say light, cold, and refreshing.

Your own personalised bit of history

As a footballer you dream of scoring the winning goal in the World Cup Final - there is no other dream. Even if you are a goalkeeper you dream of scoring the winning goal from a corner or even better, direct from a goal kick.

However, if you are unlikely to play for a World Cup winning team then there is another decent milestone in you can achieve in your career - your own personal football boots. This is exactly what has happened to the little Argentinian magician Lionel Messi.

His sponsors adidas have created a special edition F50i boot inspired by his Argentinian roots. Messi is only the fourth player of all time to receive this honour, after Beckham, Beckenbauer, and Seeler. The above image shows Messi in his new boots doing what he does best.

Are you a disbeliever?

 Do struggle to cope with disbelief? You might have Irrational Belief Syndrome!

A little bit of genius from the team at Fibre One where they have created a campaign for their new snack bars. The premise is based on the belief that anything with Fibre in it can't taste good - but good news people, this is not true!

The team at Fibre One have created a syndrome and a whole set of entertaining videos offering the cure for disbelievers - the intro video is definitely worth watching. Good mix of subtle messaging and humour.

A clever marketing idea and if you're based in States you can get samples and coupons through the site as well.