ITV instructs viewers to ‘Forget’ all they know about the World Cup in England-focused spot
ITV has unveiled its World Cup 2018 creative urging viewers to forget everything they know about the games.
ITV Creative has issued a call to arms to football fans around England, urging them to focus on what could be at Russia. The spot encourages ITV audiences to forget about the past – Maradona’s infamous handball, ‘the could haves’ and even England’s 1966 win.
It features the moments that fans and players alike hang on to too tightly, using a diverse mix of edit and post-production techniques, along with specially shot scenes and the voice of Ashley Walters to build momentum and hype for the most unpredictable World Cup in decades.
The ad was pulled together by German director Hauke Hilberg.
It will premiere on ITV Network from Friday night (11 May), with spots also showing on Sky Sports during Premier League Super Sunday, Gillette Soccer AM and the Barcelona F1 Grand Prix.
Ed Ross, head of marketing at ITV, said: “Every World Cup, we head in with this huge level of expectation, always talking about the past, about great moments, about frustrating moments and about the best summer in 1966 English football has ever had. This time, we want to galvanise the nation by asking football fans all around the country to forget the whole history or joy and pain, because all that matters is now.”
Tony Pipes, executive creative director at ITV Creative, added: “No one can hang on to a moment more than a football fan, so here they all are, flashes of memories, dreams and nightmares brought to life by Hauke’s unique visions. We want you to forget history and I think we’ve done it in quite an unforgettable way.”
Vote for the ad below in The Drum’s Creative Works.
ITV Creative : ITV ‘Forget’
This campaign is a call to arms to football fans all around the country, encouraging them to forget two things. Forget the burden of the past, the highs and lows of previous World Cups… And forget their pre-conceptions. Ultimately, we want them to forget every game that has gone before, because all that matters is what happens in Russia this summer, on the pitch, and on ITV.
In a fast paced, provocative and anthemic 60″ promo, we’re breaking all conventions of World Cup advertising, physically painting over the highs and scrapping the lows of World Cups past. Together with German Director Hauke Hilberg, we’ve selected the moments that fans and players alike hang on to too tightly, using a diverse mix of edit and post techniques along with specially shot scenes, and the voice of Ashley Walters to build momentum and hype for the most unpredictable World Cup in decades.
Agency: ITV Creative
ECD: Tony Pipes
Creative Director: Rachel King
Creative: David Brooks
Head of Campaign Production: Katie Carew
Head of Campaign Management: Gemma Dunford
Senior Campaign Manager: Emma Reith
Director of Network Marketing: Paul Ridsdale
Head of Marketing: Ed Ross
Marketing Manager: Nicolas Jayr
Marketing Executive: Chris Anstey
Production Company: ITV Creative
Director: Hauke Hilberg
Producer: Jon Hinton
Editor: David Gesslbauer
Grade: Richard Fearon @ MPC
Audio: Loft Berlin
Source: Marketing