Real Madrid and England wunderkind Jude Bellingham has taken up a starring role in an Adidas spot spruiking its new Predator series of boots.
The ad sees Bellingham being given a tour of a secret facility where they have crafted a pair of boots that will allow anyone to score goals.
The work was created by creative agency The Midnight Club.
The zany scientist giving the tour explains that “the world just isn’t ready” for the boots to make their way out of the laboratory. Birmingham-born Bellingham, ever ready to help the common man and woman, says “Surely everyone being able to score is a good thing?”
And, with that, he escapes the lab, boots in hand. Naturally, after wearing them out to a small football cage, he rifles one in the top corner.
from the lab 🧪 to every top bin worldwide 🎯
Predator, crafted for the generation of goal scorers: https://t.co/41K9NbZCQw@BellinghamJude pic.twitter.com/uVmPRenuLo
— adidas Football (@adidasfootball) January 16, 2024
Sam Handy, vice president of design for adidas Football, explained that Bellingham was deeply involved in the design process for the new boots.
“We work very closely with an amazing group of pro players who are involved in the feedback from early testing prototypes and adjustments.
“We worked with Jude on this Predator and heard his first reactions when we got the boot in front of him.
“He has been a key part of our development of the boot from a performance perspective.
“We are working closely with him for future generations, follow-up colourways where we build special editions for Jude based directly on his input. He is very integrated into our creation process. He is a dear partner of the brand.”
The boots feature a lace-covering foldover tongue, held in place by an elasticated strap that runs under the boot. The Predator series of boots, complete with foldover tongue, was made famous by the likes of former Real Madrid stars Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham.
Handy added: “In theory, the tongue is an archive detail but the feedback from so many players was, ‘Please bring back the foldover tongue.’ It’s a super iconic detail.
“It works. It delivers ball control. Gen Z pro players are asking for the tongue for performance reasons and twinned with the nostalgia it was too hard to resist the temptation for Predator 24.
“This is the best Predator ever built in 30 years – as you can tell by the number of players that have so quickly transitioned to it already.
“Normally it takes us a bit of time to get players used to a new boot but in this instance, we’ve been actively trying to stop them coming too early because they all fell in love with it.”
Adidas’ creative has long been handled by a variety of agencies including TBWA\NEBOKO, TBWA\London and Iris.
Talking to the collaboration between Adidas and Bellingham, Hanby added:
“He’s the perfect Predator player. Predator has always been about goals and Jude is very much about goals. There’s also the swagger, the flair, the confidence, the way you play. He represents that. It’s a joy to watch him play.”
The boots, if you’re wondering, cost $460 Aussie and are already sold out.
