the big four: manchester united
Promoting the derby game Manchester City vs Manchester United
Round up time—ding-ding, title fight—the Big Four campaign (again, read here—or here—for a good bit of what my acting friends call back-story) and it saw the inevitable, unparalleled bout of Manchester's two clubs going head to head.
Anyone in football knows of how passionate Manchester, as a city, is for its football—there's never a day like derby day. We're talking carnival time: the beer flows like wine, everyone is up for it and all we had to do was stoke the fire—which is great—makes my job easier.
With the previous three campaigns, there was a story to tell. The fans knew the players and all we had to do was make the link, but with the derby game, everything seemed to fall into place.
And like a bad story told in the movies, we're going to make that screechy-buzzing noise and rewind six-months to optimism, transfers, and a poster on Deansgate.
Carlos Tevez was a darling at Manchester United, a fans favourite, he bull-dogged his way through the seasons with the Reds playing out of his skin and helping them to their titles—goals, work ethic, the lot. But come the end of his final season, he wasn't offered a contract and was told by big Al told he was free to leave the club. Enter, stage-left, Manchester City. "Sign, here, here, initial here, then smile (the best you can) and hold this blue shirt for the cameras. As you can imagine the scene was set.
Throughout his first season on the sky blue side of Manchester, he's repeated his journey—playing out of his skin and replicated the performances he was famous for. He is the man for City. He embodied everything that City wanted from their side—to work hard and to challenge. He was their icon. And what better way to celebrate an icon than to invite Shepard Fairey to illustrate the final image for the campaign.
We (Music) worked with Los Angeles based Studio Number One (founded by Shepard Fairey) to produce the illustration of Tevez as homage to Shepard Fairey's iconic Barack Obama "HOPE" poster (which became one of the most enduring images from the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign) only without the red—naturally.
The illustration of Tevez captures the significance of this match and celebrates Tevez's recent performance on the pitch which has helped him achieve hero-like status with City fans.
Unlike the other campaigns, there was no big media push. We didn't cover the biggest floor-space in the Arndale with the image, or wrap an iconic Manchester building, neither did we make a film, we stayed true to the idea of Tevez being the hero. He (and City) were the underdogs but they were gaining momentum underground—they were rising. We printed the illustrations and gave away posters and stickers and let the fans create the campaign.
And boy they did.
Design by Music.
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Featured on Creative Review blog.
Featured on the BBC's Match of the Day 17 April 2010.
Featured on BBC Sport homepage 17 April 2010
Featured in The Drum April 2010.
Featured in the Daily Mirror 17 April 2010
Skitted by the Daily Mirror 24 April 2010
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