New Balance Launches Creative For Soccer Line, Sets Sights On Nike, Adidas

New Balance "has taken its first shots at soccer powerhouses Nike and Adidas with a new ad for its NB Football line" after it launched its line of soccer footwear and apparel in February, according to Jack Newsham of the BOSTON GLOBE. The first ad "features several players from some of Europe’s top soccer clubs." The shoes "aren’t the focus of the ad, and only appear in quick cuts." Instead, the company's players "dominate the minute-long spot." The ad "features an LED board beaming intense messages, with the tagline: 'Every minute. Every second. Every challenge. Every victory. We are New Balance Football.'" The company said that it "wouldn't run the advertisement on TV" in the U.S. (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/27). New Balance Football GM Richard Wright said of the decision to rebrand Warrior Football as NB Football, "Interestingly, a lot of people assume it was because Warrior wasn’t working, but that’s really not the case. Warrior was working very well. We’re very proud that even after two years in the marketplace, we were playing with the big boys -- the adidas, Nikes, Pumas and Umbros of this world -- in the category. We’ve been mentioned in the same sentences as those brands. We regarded that as a massive success, to be honest. From a brand that was essentially being launched globally, not just in the football category, but also in general as a brand. So, we were very pleased with that." He added, "We thought we’d done a hell of a good job at that point. However, with New Balance doing so well globally and with New Balance pledging the decision to pull a chair up to the big table and to compete with the big two in particular, with aspirations of becoming a global athletic No. 3 brand, part of the way to do that is to be in soccer. You have no choice. It’s the world’s biggest sport. You can’t have an aspiration about being a No. 3 brand without being in the category" (Anna Hrushka, Staff Writer, SBD Global).