"There Will Be Haters"

21 January 2015

65s

Adidas is all about the 'tude

Even his fiercest detractors have to admit that Luis Suárez is one hell of a footballer. The bitey Uruguayan's seesawing contrition has done little to rehabilitate his image, but ultimately the fans at Barcelona don't care whether he's sorry for trying to sample Giorgio Chiellini's flesh during last year's World Cup - they only care whether he's putting the ball into the net on a regular basis.

He's the kind of player who will lead fans of his current club to tie themselves in knots as they attempt to rationalise his latest bad-boy episode, while opposing supporters will unload an exhausting amount of ire in his direction.

In short, Suárez's exploits have ensured he has exactly the right 'tude to represent a brand like Adidas and - strangely - appearing in advertising like this allows him to represent his unpalatable assaults as an amusing misdemeanour.

This Adidas commercial isn't all about Suárez. It also features Gareth Bale - accused of smugness because of that stupid heart gesture he makes whenever he scores a goal; James Rodríguez - too popular with "the girls"; and Karim Benzema - guilty of scoring all the girls.

But it's Suárez who makes you pay attention, and it reminds DAVID of the way Eric Cantona ruled the roost for Nike back in the day. That's why Adidas have been so shrewd to back Suárez through his troubles - his bouts of bad behaviour appear to be the flipside of his mercurial talent when he's at his best and that's what makes him one of the most watchable talents in the world. He may not be the best player, but he's arguably the game's most marketable asset... and this commercial very knowingly exploits this to the hilt.

UK

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