EA Sports FIFA 16: Play Beautiful
Agency
Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam
Directors
Traktor
An iconic commercial, with football legends playing in it.
Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Alex Morgan, Pelé and Kobe Bryant all appear in the film, which opens on the stars trying to one-up each other while wearing motion-capture gear.
Definitely something that happens once in a lifetime. The stakes were definitely higher than a goalkeeper’s door.
Challenge
The movie is a continuous switch, a back and forth between real-life soccer theatrics and in-game footage, ending with a glass-breaking crescendo that leaves its mark.
We had to sustain the pace, that was certain. But not with an average composition.
Approach
To do the iconic piece justice, we re-recorded the famous Figaro’s Aria from the ‘Barber of Seville’ opera. We called it ‘Play Beautiful’, but most of us ended up calling it ‘Fifaro’.
Sung by Dutch baritone Wiebe Pier Cnossen, the aria was arranged, produced and recorded in just two weeks.
Our version differs from the original as we added strings, copper horns, percussions and even a choir to give it more filmic impact. And instead of a barber singing in Italian, we have a sports commentator singing in English.
Solution
Apparently the original piece is known as one of the most difficult baritone arias to perform, but we know you can nail our version! Here are the lyrics:
Beautiful football Look at this football Oh my, what football This is amazing Quite hair-raising And jaw dropping Mega eye-popping
It’s unbelievable It’s incomparable, pretty incredible Oh so incredible, so incomparable Game that is beautiful, playing it beautiful
Such a cool game Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful beautiful What a show
Beautiful here, Beautiful there Beautiful here, Beautiful there Beautiful pass, beautiful ball, Right in the window, counts as a goal, Bravo Bravissimo, super impressive, here’s your ball back Back to the game, again in the game
La la la, la la la la Play beautiful and you just might become the best, Become the best, become the best La la la la La la la, la la la la Bravo bravissimo, bravo bravissimo Bravo bravissimo, beautiful goal
Fall down, dancing, flag slapping, hurrah Amazing goal Lalalalalala
Results
“For a game that provides as much beauty as football it’s surprising more operas haven’t been written about it,” said W+K Amsterdam creative director David Smith. “So it seemed appropriate to add one to the world’s oeuvre.”
MassiveMusic’s CEO Hans Brouwer commented: “Regardless of the sector, winning an award is always an honour, but to be acknowledged by a world-class jury such as at the LIA, demonstrates just how hard our global teams work, individually and in collaboration.”
Contains excerpts from Wieden+Kennedy’s blog.
Awards
‘Fifaro’ received Silver in the category ‘Music & Sound: Music Adaptation – Song’ at the 2016 London International Awards (LIA).
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