The spot, created by Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam and available on , is part of Nike's global "Joga bonito" campaign that launched earlier this month.
In this latest spot, Cantona is shown taking over a German sports show in the name of "Joga TV" and screening contrasting clips of foul play and boring football, alongside more stylish and passionate play from the likes of Brazil and Barcelona star Ronaldinho and England and Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.
Cantona's messages include promoting the values of "honour, heart, skill, joy and team spirit" before signing off with the line, "play beautiful, this is just the beginning, watch this space".
Other stars to feature as examples of playing beautiful football are Thierry Henry, who scored Arsenal's winning goal in the team's surprise 1-0 victory over Real Madrid last night.
The "Joga TV" creative will also be used across TV, cinema, retail and print ahead of the World Cup 2006, which is taking place in Germany during June and July. It will continue running until August.
Credits include creative directing by Alvaro Sotomayor and Mark Hunter, directing by Ulk Johansson and editing by Russell Icke of Whitehouse London.
The media agency is MindShare and post-production was carried out by Wave London and Moving Picture Company London.
The "Joga bonito" campaign also includes the creation of a new version of football, which Nike hopes will be played across the world, called Joga3, which uses teams of just three players using a smaller, heavier ball to encourage greater skill.
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