Ferdinand morphs for anti-prejudice Special Olympics ad

by Jennifer Whitehead,, Brand Republic 28-Apr-03, 08:45

LONDON - England footballer Rio Ferdinand is morphed into a man with Down's Syndrome in a campaign against prejudice for the Special Olympics movement.

In the 30-second spot, Ferdinand is shown wearing his England kit in a dimly lit dressing room. With his head bowed, he says: "If something happened before I was born, if I was slightly different to how I am now, do you think I'd love football less?"

He continues: "Do you think I wouldn't want to win? Do you think I'd try less hard to be the best footballer I possibly could?"

Ferdinand then morphs into Barry Cairns Jr, a footballer with Down's Syndrome. He smiles and answers: "I don't think so."

The television ad is backed by a campaign featuring three press ads and a poster, all featuring different Special Olympians.

The ad promotes the Special Olympics European Football Week. It was created by J Walter Thompson, written by Jonathan John and art directed by Nick Wootton, while the print campaign was written by Ryan Lawson with art direction by Andy Smith. Trevor Melvin directed the ad through the Paul Weiland Film Company and the special effects were created by The Mill.

The ad will run this month on MTV, CNN and Eurosport. Media for the campaign is through MindShare.

Cairns Jr has appeared in a 2001 ad campaign for the Special Olympics, also created by JWT.

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