Can The Wrong Football Boots Cause Injuries? Nit Nike Apparently
Umbro has attempted to avoid the overhyped computer generated ad campaigns that usually target their consumers by opting for a retro pop-art style. The campaign has been created by a leading Manchester agency who said they wanted to shy away from the usual dark ominous billboards you see looming over high streets.
They based their pop art on inspiration from the fast-consumerism of modern youth and all familiar comic book styling’s that are common in the pop movement. Instead of making use of popular image editing software and graphics, the agency turned to good old fashioned cardboard cut outs, fishing wire and double sided sticky tape.
Competing with bitter rivals Nike, the company splashed over 400 million US dollars on the campaign which included designing and producing the controversial Jubilani ball. However Nike stole much of the attention at the last minute with their ‘write the future’ campaign which was viewed more than 15 million times on YouTube alone.
The leading advert features Sunderland striker Darren Brent who is currently under sponsorship with Umbro. It is the first major endorsement Brent has taken part in despite his appearances for the England squad and an extensive professional career.
Despite their success, Adidas were not without their misfortunes; their Jubilani match ball caused much controversy as many of the loosing teams claimed that in being too aerodynamic it became too hard to control although teams who had trained with the ball when it was launched had no complaints during the world cup and winners Spain had never touched one until the first game.
The only company to take this issue into consideration is Nike, they have produced a range of boots with hybrid configurations designed to optimise stability, control and speed but also allow for natural loss of grip such as sideways impacts and tackles. Another issue raised over the safety of football boots is that every manufacturer is concentrating on minimising weight by using less material but more and more players are suffering foot injuries such as David Beckham’s infamous metatarsal incident.
The new Nike Mercurial is supposed to get rid of this issue. Valencia is without his Manchester United Football Shirt for at least the next season.
