Advert
adidas Footballitis Advert, 2002: Beckham, Zidane, Collina
The 2002 World Cup film that made football a medical condition, and the Predator era behind it.
Ahead of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea, adidas made a film about a disease. “Footballitis” is set at the “Institute for the Study of Footballitis”, where a serious-faced presenter explains an affliction that makes people play football compulsively, even without a ball.
It is not a boot advert, and we should say so up front. It was adidas’s World Cup film for the whole football family, and it is on a Predator site because of who starred in it: David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero were the faces of the Predator Mania, the boot adidas released for that tournament. SoccerBible counts it among its most memorable Predator-era commercials for that reason.
The Joke
The film satirised the earnest educational videos of the 1970s. Its presenter announces the condition, admits there is no cure and promises an ointment is on the way. Among the symptoms, Beckham fidgets his legs in a chair as if kicking a ball, small dogs play football and a referee blows his whistle at them.
adidas used the spot to give viewers an early look at the Fevernova, the match ball for the 2002 World Cup.
The Cast and the Makers
Beckham, Zidane and Del Piero are the best-known names in it, alongside goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. The referee in the film is Pierluigi Collina, the Italian referee.
Campaign’s write-up credits the Amsterdam agency 180, with the film distributed and adapted across markets through the TBWA network.
The Boot Behind It
The Mania was the Predator of that World Cup, with kangaroo leather, an elasticated tongue strap and the “Champagne” colourway Beckham made famous. Our Mania page covers the boot. Beckham, Del Piero and Raúl were among its best-known wearers, and you can read more on David Beckham and Alessandro Del Piero.
SoccerBible’s roundup also describes a separate Mania launch film with Beckham and Zidane, which was more directly about the boot.
Why It Lasted
“Footballitis” still turns up on lists of the best football and World Cup adverts, including those from Campaign, Goal and Creative Salon, more than two decades on.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Footballitis advert?
Footballitis is a 2002 adidas World Cup film. It is set at an institute that studies a fictional condition that makes people play football compulsively, and it stars David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero.
Who made the Footballitis advert?
Campaign credits the Amsterdam agency 180, with the film distributed and adapted through the TBWA network.
Who is the referee in Footballitis?
Pierluigi Collina, the Italian referee, has a cameo.
Was Footballitis a Predator advert?
Not exactly. It was adidas’s wider World Cup film, but its stars were the faces of the Predator Mania, which was the boot of that tournament.
Read more: Predator Mania · David Beckham · Remakes vs originals