Cristiano Ronaldo. Nike Superfly. The Switch.
From the FIFA World Cup to Copa America (the oldest international continental football competition) the action of a football game, truly stops a nation… and the world in fact.
This month the UEFA Euro Cup is taking place. First starting in 1971, the UEFA Euro Cup is now one of the most watched, revered and sought after tournaments. With finals looming all eyes are turning to the players like Real Madrid/Portugal star forward Cristiano Ronaldo who recently equaled legendary Portuguese player Luís Figo’s record of 127 Portugal caps. “When he’s at his best, he’s unstoppable,” said Figo of Ronaldo. He’s one of the world’s best, most sought after and even most expensive players, and has now even turned his attention towards acting for Nike.
Nike has recently released a new feature film titled The Switch which stars Cristiano Ronaldo wearing the new Nike Mercurial Superfly football boot.
Partnering with longtime collaborators Wieden+Kennedy on The Switch, the film was directed by Ringan Ledwidge, who also directed Nike’s 2014 film Winner Stays, with cinematography by Matthew Libatique, known for his film work on Straight Outta Compton, Black Swan and Iron Man. At 5:57 min, The Switch is the longest brand film ever produced by Nike Football, surpassing The Last Game, also featuring Ronaldo, but in animated form.
The Switch is all about the star forward, and is the most extensive brand shoot he has ever done for any company. He completed his own stunts and took five full days for filming along with 16 other professional footballers including stars from Manchester City F.C, Manchester United, FC Barcelona, Everton, Southampton, Beşiktaş and more.
The film features Ronaldo switching bodies with fictional character English teen footballer Charlie Lee after they collide – Ronaldo the star forward in the match, Lee an onlooker in the crowd. The next morning Ronaldo finds himself in a family home in Manchester, while Lee wakes up in Ronaldo’s mansion. They switched. Switched languages, thoughts, and of course, football skills. Lee suddenly takes on the expertise of Ronaldo, while the Real Madrid captain struggles to match his former.
Ronaldo perseveres, and they each progress quickly, Lee working his way to play for England, and Ronaldo for Real Madrid where eventually the two play against each other, noticing a similarity. They each wear the Nike Mercurial Superfly.
Unlike other boots, the Nike Mercurial Superfly uses a new Flyknit that is thicker than other models, and because of the thicker upper, the Nike Innovation Kitchen team were been able explore colours and elements in the new boots, lending them an edge that is hard to replicate. The design of the boot is about enhancing and ensuring speed. “Our approach with the new Mercurial was to challenge all assumptions about speed, merging science with design to build the fastest boot in football,” said Nike Football Design Lead Jeongwoo Lee.
Having collaborated with the Nike Innovation Kitchen team, Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL) and Nike experts from track and field, Nike designers were able to look at the various elements associated with speed from contouring, braking, fiber responsiveness and fiber texture. The boot is more than design; it’s science and engineering intersecting with design.
Innovation is different from novelty. Where something novel fails to enhance rather providing a short-term sideways moving idea, innovation is about looking forward.
The Nike Innovation Kitchen is where all the game-changing innovation comes from, and its focus is to invent the future of unbeatable performance for athletes. “We do that with a mission to make athletes better,” said Tony Bignell VP Footwear Innovation. A look toward other innovations from Nike, such as the Nike Superfly or the Nike Zoom Air KD9, acknowledges not only their design, but how they enhance an athlete’s performance – just look to Ronaldo and you’ll see.
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