EA’s FIFA 20 Created a High-Octane Ad in Praise of Playing Sports ‘Wrong’

September 27, 2019

When athletes bring something new to a longstanding sport, they’re often accused of playing or acting “wrong”—until everyone else starts doing it too.

In the new ad for EA’s FIFA 20 video game, London agency Adam&eveDDB turns this accusation into a badge of honor, showing athletes across soccer and other sports who’ve been questioned about everything from their style on the field to the tattoos on their bodies.

The spot, reminiscent of frenetic and high-energy Nike spots like “Nothing Beats a Londoner” or the recent “You’re It”—features American Women’s World Cup star Megan Rapinoe alongside players like Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Eden Hazard. We also see Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, freestyle star Lisa Zimouche (who has more than 2 million Instagram followers).

There’s also young winger Jadon Sancho, whose decision to sign with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund rather than patiently wait for a spot on an English Premier League team like Man City, sparked comparisons like driving “the wrong way down a one-way street.” As the ad references, Sancho’s much-debated decision paid off, giving him an effective proving ground to demonstrate that he’s one of today’s top rising stars.

Beyond soccer, we also get an appearance by trailblazing British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua.

The campaign aims to celebrate how evolution of soccer—and sports of all kinds—is driven by those who break rules and conventions.

“There has always been a ‘right’ way to do things in football,” says Mat Goff, co-CEO of adam&eveDDB. “But the global FIFA community are constantly making and breaking their own rules to show that wrong is the new right and changing the game
for the better.”

CREDITS:

Client: Electronic Arts (EA)
Brand: EA SPORTS
Project/Campaign name: FIFA 20 – Break New Ground
First Air Date: 27th September 2019

Clients:
Group Senior Producer: Anthony Doyle
Senior Producer: Andy Gillooley
Senior Creative Director: Paul Marr
Creative Director: Tom Gent
Senior Director of Strategy: David Jackson
Senior Brand Manager: Josh Farber

Agency: adam&eveDDB
Chief Creative Officer: Richard Brim
Executive Creative Director/s: Ant Nelson & Mike Sutherland
Creative Director/s: Tim Vance & Paul Knott
Copywriter: Richard Gayton
Art director: Darren Beresford
Agency producers: Ben Sharpe, Rosie Grayson, Nia Maclean, Nikki Cramphorn
Planners: Martin Beverley, David Mortimer
CEO: Mat Goff
Managing Partner: Mike Stern
Business Director/s: James Derrick
Account Director/s: George Fox
Account Manager/s: Jake Gidley
Legal Council: Trine Odin
Designer/Typographer: Alex Fairman, Roberto Celentano
Motion Graphics: George Fowler, James Ireland

Media agency: Msix

Production company: Pulse Films
Executive Producer: Lucy Kelly
Producer: Lucy Gossage
Director: Yann Demange
Cinematographer: Tat Radcliffe
D.O.P: Tat Radcliffe

Editing Company: Trim Editing
Editor: Paul Hardcastle & Magdalena Plugowska

Postproduction: The Mill
Post Producer: Alex Fitzgerald & Dan Crozier
2D Artist Lead: Gianluca Di Marco & Venuprasath D
3D Artist Lead: David Hempstead
Colorist: James Bamford

Music Supervisor: Raphaella Lima (EA)
Audio Postproduction: Factory
Recording Engineer: Phil Bolland
Sound Producer: Deborah Whitfield
Soundtrack name and composer: “Offence”, performed by Little Simz. Written by Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, Dean Wynton Josiah Cover and Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic. Music remix for advert by Mad Planet.