"Man Down Part 2"

6 April 2025

52s

Old school brilliance.

Many years ago, when DAVID worked for an organisation called The Television Register, we would routinely peddle a collection of ads referred to as The 100 Greatest Commercials of All Time. The majority of the TV spots included were from America, and a lot of them were from the 1960s. They had a certain vibe... a swagger, if you will. And, if you want to know what that swagger felt like, watch this terrific piece of communication for German footwear giant Adidas.

Knowingly or not, director Onda has perfectly captured the tone and the effectiveness of the US commercials of yesteryear that dominated those compilations. The way the scenario commands one's attention is very striking, and the film then takes full advantage of the audience's raptness by offering a stream of enticing statements about the advertised shoe.

The great thing about the way this has been made is that you don't need to be aware of the cultural significance of the sporting event that inspired it. It just works. Ice T is fantastic as a 'Law & Order' style detective examining the evidence in a bid to find out what happened, and makes a telling contribution to the heightened sense of advertising antiquity that serves this piece so well. This feels like an ad which is going to shift an awful lot of shoes... tariffs notwithstanding.

USA

Sportswear