In a series of spots, including a 90-second cinema version and three 30-second television ads, the pair, who both wear Adidas Predator boots, train together, with Beckham instructing 'Wilko', the England fly-half, on the finer points of kicking a football while Wilkinson returns the favour by teaching Beckham about rugby.
The creative idea for the ads was developed by Amsterdam agency 180, but Beckham and Wilkinson improvised the dialogue. During the shoot, it turned out that Wilko and Becks really were good at each other's sports, with Beckham nailing every penalty kick he attempted with the rugby ball and Wilkinson learning Beckham's famous ball-bending trick to score goals at will.
The ad campaign breaks during this Saturday's international between France and England on Sky Sports and runs for six weeks on satellite and terrestrial television. There are also plans to screen it in Asia and possibly in other regions.
The ads were copywritten by Richard Bullock and art directed by Andy Fackrell. Chris Palmer directed the campaign, which was produced by Gorgeous.
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