Hasta La Ideas

YouTube commenters have been calling Saatchi’s Carlsberg Team Talk ad ‘the best ever’. Really? It’s not even the best football-related Carlsberg ad

In the ad a line-up of English sporting ‘heroes’ gathers in the players’ tunnel to wish The Lads good luck as they make their way onto the pitch. Everyone from Sir Ranulph Fiennes to Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor (who, helpfully, throws a dart just in case anyone was wondering who he was) is here to urge on Our Boys as they click-clack their way out for the game.

I’m just not sure what they were going for here. Last time, Carlsberg produced a wonderfully warm tribute to past England players that didn’t take itself too seriously

This one doesn’t seem to know which way to go. It’s far too pompous to work as an ironically over-the-top call to arms like this

yet the random ‘comedy’ bits (Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling in body paint) undermine any attempt to be genuinely rousing or moving (and let’s not dwell on the horribly mawkish ‘Do it for Sir Bobby’ moment)

If the idea was to do the Great English Team Talk, they could have gone either this way

or this way

But they’ve ended up somewhere in the middle – not funny, not moving, just slightly weird. Let’s hope Fabio has something more inspired planned before England’s first game in the 2010 FIFA World Cup TM ®©

And while we’re talking football, check out this teaser for a forthcoming Nike ad featuring a bloated, has-been Wayne Rooney reduced to wondering what might have been. Looks promising – and Rooney would make a good Bear