ZUZU picks are back to look back at 2023 and bring you the highlights of brands + clubs that shifted soccer’s tectonic plates this year, making creative work that impacts culture.
Enough talking. Let’s get on it.
HOPE SOGNI, THE 10TH FIFA PRESIDENT
Hope Sogni is an AI character designed to understand the game, its politics, and the shady stuff happening behind closed doors at FIFA, launching a hypothetical first-woman candidate for the federation’s presidency.
Sogni is a testament to the collective and anonymous voice of influential women in football. She’s their lighting rod openly expressing what, really, everyone knows about FIFA’s long story of corrupted-borderline-mafia-like schemes.
It’s smart and absurd at the same time. Because the more advances are made promoting equality and diversity, the real power to make changes never switches hands. And, although the campaign generated tons of media, what follows next is crucial to keep momentum going. It’ll be sad to see the only one who benefits from this is the ad agency winning awards and moving on to the next “cool” thing to do.
EST.2005 TRENT X ADIDAS
“It all started for me in 2005. Life was football.” Trent-Alexander’s trajectory is so pitch-perfect that it sounds like fiction—a heartfelt way to launch a massive partnership between Trent and Adidas. Influenced by the biggest comeback in the UCL finals, the little kid “born and bred” in Liverpool grew up to win the UCL for the club he loves. But, that kid with adidas boots never left him. And special points for the little guy playing Trent. He has a glow that makes us truly believe we’re looking at the future number 66 for the Reds.
ADIDAS PREDATOR 1994
From one lad to another. Jude Bellingham has turned on “Beast Mode” playing for Real Madrid and doesn’t know how to turn it off. So, when he went on to the pitch wearing the number 5 on his back and the vintage 1994 adidas Predator on his feet, it was surefire that would turn a few heads.
The German brand was celebrating the 20 years of this iconic boot. Only 1994 pairs of the Predator 30 were available to buy. A tactic with such perfect timing and soaked in nostalgia that not a single promo was created to promote and still left all social feeds buzzing.
FLUMINENSE + UMBRO, CARTOLA
2023 was a year where clubs really let the creative juices flow when designing the third kits (Check out ZUZU picks: 3rd kits if you missed).
Fluminense F.C. has reached new international heights by winning the Copa Libertadores da America for the first time. And their 3rd kit has also soared, combining football tradition, culture, and fandom by celebrating Brazilian iconic musician “sambista” Cartola. The jersey features the lyrics of “Corra e Olhe o Céu” mimicking the artist’s own handwriting. The colors pink & green allude to his connection with Mangueira, a traditional samba group that parades during Rio’s Carnaval. The jersey becomes a manuscript that forever carries a cultural legacy with a design that’s pure fire. Olé, Fluminense.
ADIDAS WWC
“Play until they can’t look away” is a cinematic jewel made for the Women’s World Cup this year. Edited into perfect socially friendly modules, it showcases present and future soccer stars showing their flair anywhere they are. The conceptual take is also fresh by placing men’s superstars as mere spectators of the women’s talent. And, frankly, whenever you don’t do a story about a father who wakes up from a coma from slipping on a banana peel that was sitting on his living room floor for no particular reason, you’re winning.
THE KING VS. THE VIKING, BEATS STUDIO PRO
“The King & The Viking” grabs your attention by intertwining many layers into one simple but sophisticated narrative. It is a soccer+basketball crossover bringing together Lebron James and Eric Haaland. It juxtaposes both athletes and the different moments in their careers, but both are motivated by the pressure to be at the top of their form. The narration comes from the people closest to them, giving warmth and authenticity to every word spoken (“break records like a broken record” is just muah!). It does it all with no CGI, keeping the Beats by Dre aesthetic and the product on screen at all times without feeling contrived. They did it…again.
PUMA X FENTY
This is the year where collabs between clubs & sports brands & fashion brands exploded. Soccer is a high fashion business now. One collab that stands out as off-kilt (in a fresh way) is Puma X Fenty from Rihanna. The announcement came in the form of a series of digital installations placed in various locations worldwide, including her birth home in Barbados. But, while all the other brands were jumping on the “Oh, look, is it real or fake?” massive installation craze by only creating digital ones (and you can ALWAYS tell it is fake), they pushed it further by creating one in New York that was actually real, playing the notion of real x fake right. Besides, we got Rihana to speak about Pelé’s legacy— “I wanted to bring something iconic from the archives to the street, and the late great Pelé made the Avanti shoe so iconic.” How cool is that?
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