Beckham launches new football season on Sky Sports
David Beckham experiences the excitement, drama and surprises of an entire football season in just 60 seconds, when he stars in a brand new advertisement to promote the Premier League on Sky Sports.
The ad, unveiled today, sees Beckham head off on a morning jog only to find himself running through scenes from ten months of football, enduring changing weather conditions, celebrating with fans, dashing in and out of a pub and at one stage being chased by a dog!
Directed by award winning Frederic Planchon the film celebrates the unpredictability of the Premier League, never more evident than last season's incredible triumph for Leicester City. Premiering on 21 July across Sky Sports digital outlets, including skysports.com as well as Beckham’s Facebook page, it will be shown on TV from 22 July.
Next season, Sky Sports will show more Premier League football than ever before, 126 live matches including for the first time, Friday Night Football.
David Beckham, who has worked with Sky since 2013, said: “Anything can happen in the Premier League and this ad by Sky is a really fun way of showing that. Filming the ad was great and the finished piece is a really clever way of showing that you never know what might happen in football. I always enjoy working with Sky Sports and I'm proud to be associated with their football coverage.”
Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, added: “It's our biggest ever season on Sky Sports, so we wanted one of the world's biggest stars to help us tell that story. David does a brilliant job of encapsulating in one minute what football fans experience in an entire season and I'm sure people will enjoy it. Never has the Premier League been so unpredictable, and with more matches than ever before, Sky Sports viewers can enjoy unrivalled coverage as the drama unfolds.”
The advert was shot in various locations around the country, including a three day shoot in London with Beckham in May. 500 extras were used with snow machines and a fire engine helping to create the contrasting weather conditions.
Advertising agency Brothers and Sisters created the advertisement with a production crew of over 80.
Sky Sports begins its coverage of the Premier League on Saturday 13th August with Leicester City, as part of a schedule of 20 televised fixtures that features every club by the end of September. The opening weekend also offers Sky Sports viewers coverage of José Mourinho’s first game in charge of Manchester United at Bournemouth, Arsenal v Liverpool in the first big head to head of the season, plus Antonio Conte’s Chelsea at home to West Ham United.
Notes to editors:
Facts and figures about the ad
• A special rollerblading camera operator called Myron Mance was enlisted to keep up with Beckham on the run. A former pro skater, Myron is sought after for high action and sports commercials, due to his expertise at capturing movement.
• The advert was filmed across East and West London, Derbyshire, Manchester/Stockport and at the Emirates Stadium.
• Filming took over 70 hours, including travel between the various locations.
• 500 extras were used throughout the advert, including a special guest role for one dog.
• A London fire engine was recruited to provide the water for a rain scene and to give Beckham a covering on an unusually warm day in May.
• Teams featured in the advert include Middlesbrough, Leicester, QPR, Bournemouth, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City.
• 80 production crew and 2 cameras were needed to capture all the scenes, including 1 mounted on a rig.
About Sky
Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 21 million customers across five countries: UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.
Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.9 billion. The group employs 30,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).
For more information visit www.sky.com/corporate
