Fans rave about French Women’s World Cup ad with unexpected twist
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Telecom company Orange’s campaign is aimed at challenging people’s perceptions of women’s soccer.
SCREENSHOT: YOUTUBE
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MANCHESTER – Football fans are buzzing about a Women’s World Cup advertisement featuring French stars Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann – or so it seems at first.
In telecommunications company Orange’s campaign aimed at challenging people’s perceptions of women’s football, the two-minute ad appears to show a display of magical skills from diving headers to curling free kicks by the two male stars and others.
Then comes the twist.
A message reads: “Only Les Bleus can give us these emotions. But that’s not them you’ve just seen.”
The footage rewinds and the visual effects (VFX) editing process is revealed, showing that the skills and the goals are actually all those of Les Bleues players, including Sakina Karchaoui and Selma Bacha.
“Absolutely bamboozled me. Great ad,” one fan wrote on Reddit, while one Twitter user describes it as “the French commercial that blew our minds”.
France, fifth in the Fifa women’s rankings, open their World Cup campaign when they take on Jamaica in Sydney on Sunday.
This is their fifth appearance in nine editions. Their best finish is fourth place in Germany in 2011.
Their coach Herve Renard says his team have been “perfect” with their work ethic and attitude, despite the acrimony that led to him replacing Corinne Diacre in March.
He gave up a lucrative contract with the Saudi Arabia men’s team to answer the call from his country after Diacre was sacked in March.
Her position became untenable following a revolt by leading players.
Captain Wendie Renard had effectively said she would not go to the World Cup if Diacre stayed because she could “no longer support the current system”.
Fellow stars Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto followed her lead in making their dislike for Diacre clear, and a change had to be made if Les Bleues were to stand any chance of going far in Australia and New Zealand.
Wendie Renard and Diani have both returned to the international fold but Katoto has missed out on the World Cup due to injury.
“I have not looked at what happened in the past. I have a fresh view on things having come from outside,” added the man who led Saudi Arabia to a stunning victory over Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the group stage of the Qatar World Cup.
Renard knows what it takes to win a major international tournament, having lifted the Africa Cup of Nations twice, with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015.
He admitted to taking an enormous pay cut to leave the Saudi position.
“If we are talking after tax it is 20 times less,” he said, before adding: “I never hesitated. That is not what will allow me to progress in football, even if it is important.
“What matters to me is the challenge and this is one I have taken on for other reasons. I am convinced I was right to take it.”
REUTERS, AFP
