Jonathan Glazer, the acclaimed director of cult classic films such as Sexy Beasts and Under the Skin, has directed a new ad for Canon, which tells the story of Calcio Storico (“Historic Football”), an ancient and brutal Italian sport. Glazer, who also produced the iconic “Surfer” ad for Guinness, as well as countless other famous ads and music videos, takes the viewer on to the field of battle in a beautifully shot 90-second ad shot entirely with the Canon EOS C500 and EOS C300 cameras. The TV ads will run across the EMEA region from this month.
Glazer, who also produced the iconic “Surfer” ad for Guinness, takes the viewer onto the field of battle in a beautifully shot 90-second ad
The brutal ad (below) is part of the “Come and See” campaign from JWT London, which will also include another Glazer-directed ad and a website that features behind-the-scenes footage and a range of “how-to” videos by travel photographer Christopher Pillitz and wildlife photographer Jamie Hall, which will show users how to achieve the techniques Glazer's film features. The second Glazer-directed ad will focus on a herd of deer exploring the residential streets close to Epping Forest in London. The campaign was created by Adam Scholes and Anita Davis, and media planning and buying has been taken care of by PHD.
Gladiator Football – “Come and See” – Canon
The idea behind the campaign, which will form part of a three-year communications strategy, is to invite consumers to “Capture the stories that unfold around them.” It was first unveiled at Photokina, the world's largest photography and imaging show, which is currently taking place in Cologne, Germany. Nigel Taylor, the consumer imaging marketing communications director at Canon Europe, believes that "Storytelling through photography is reaching new heights of popularity, “ and that “With almost one trillion images forecast to be taken this year alone, it’s never been a more exciting time to be an imaging company." He adds that with the new ad they “Wanted to look at stories that were fascinating, intriguing and really revolved around authentic storytelling," and said “"Sport is a great way of sharing impactful imagery with regards to capturing Canon’s core technology.” The fast-paced and violent action of Calcio Storico really appealed to them, and they hope it will appeal to consumers too.
Canon have been “Encouraging consumers to tell their own unique story, by taking, sharing, printing and enjoying photography” for over 80 years
The sport of Calcio Storico originated in the 16th century, but the sport saw a modern revival in the 1930's. Ever since, there has been an annual tournament every June in Florence in the sand-covered piazza in front of the Santa Croce church, where teams from the four quarters of the Tuscan capital compete for the title. The game consists of 1 ball, 2 nets, 27 players and no substitutes and the goal is to get the ball into your opponents nets by any means necessary. This means that everything from punching and choking and head-butting and elbowing is not only allowed, but actively encouraged and the result appears to be a nightmarish combination of football, rugby and mixed martial arts. In case anyone was wondering, the prize for the victorious team is a cow.
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK who spent almost the entire 90-seconds of that advert wincing. Ouch!
