Ogilvy Social.Lab and Panenka Football Magazine present The Ball of God, a cinematic video tribute to Diego Maradona, set in the place where it all started a potrero. Which is not an official football pitch, but rather a typical vacant space in a humble part of Buenos Aires where Argentinian kids play rough and streetwise football. A potrero much like one where Maradona first picked up a ball and started playing himself.
The video sees a young fan saying a personal goodbye to a legend. By offering him his very own football, worn and heavily used, now attached to a string of balloons – and sent up to the heavens. With the aim to reach Maradona, and make sure he can still play football, wherever he is now. As Maradona died in such a rush, it’s quite likely he forgot his ball.
The creative team at Amsterdam’s Ogilvy Social.Lab treated the tribute as a movie, crafting it carefully but using real people and real locations, as all the casting and filming took place in the authentic slum districts of Buenos Aires.
Working closely with both the client, Panenka Magazine, and the Spanish production company, BeSweet Films, the creative process, production and editing was completed in a matter of days.
Credit
Agency: Ogilvy Social.Lab Amsterdam
Creatives: Federico Botella Padilla, Diego Lauton De Oliviera
Ecd: Tolga Büyükdoğanay
Agency Producer: Tamara Bogard
Production: BeSweet film + Panenka
Directors: Matias Saravia & Larissa Cambauva
Producer: Juan San Roman
