Iniesta's Puppet Performance with W+K & Nike

In the film, Iniesta wears Nike’s completely re-designed CTR 360 Maestri III; boots designed for the midfield maestro. Maestri – meaning Maestro in Italian – is the boot favoured by midfield players like Iniesta who rely on innovative performance features to enhance their control of the ball, and therefore the game itself.

 

Iniesta makes the perfect puppet master for the film, being a player with impeccable ball control and both the vision and the range of passing to create game changing opportunities.

 

On shooting and starring in the video Iniesta said: “It was fun to shoot; it is always good to do something a little different from the norm."

 

As for his marionette doppelganger, Iniesta is keen to emphasise his role as puppeteer rather than puppet. “Well, I obviously don’t consider myself to be a puppet but you always try to transmit the person you are on the pitch. It’s something I like to do,” he explains. “I like the puppet. I’ll look after it with affection.”

 

The spot was created by Patrick Boivin, a self-taught French Canadian director who made the leap to filmmaking after he discovered it was a quicker, more efficient way of telling a story than his laboriously drawn comics. Boivin, who is repped by Aardman Animation, created the commercial using stop motion techniques.

  

The new CTR360 Maestri III is reengineered to deliver enhanced control, traction, support and lightweight comfort.  Innovations include a revamped 3D control pad that uses separate strips with fins of varying sizes to hug the arch and maximize contact with the ball, optimizing receiving and passing accuracy. The creative from Wieden+Kennedy was designed to reveal the precision, skill and artistry of the new boot – something which is also reflected in the vigorous violin track that accompanies the commercial.

 

Credits

Agency: Wieden+Kennedy London

Production Company: Aardman Animation

Director: Patrick Boivin

Character Design: CoolRain

Music: Siren