Some of ManU's "biggest stars," including Alexis Sánchez, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are featured in a new video promoting the film "Deadpool 2," which was released in the U.K. on Tuesday, according to Matthew Smith of the London DAILY MAIL. It forms part of ManU's "unusual promotional deal" with 20th Century Fox, for which players have previously appeared in ads for "X-Men: Apocalypse," "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" and the original "Deadpool." Somewhat "surprisingly, however, this promotion has the feature of being quite funny rather than very awkward," giving the players a chance to "show off their comedic acting talents." It starts with a young supporter "being shocked" by a "huge banner featuring Deadpool hung on the outside of Old Trafford." The video then cuts to the ManU dressing room, where all the players "are instructed to wear shirts with 'Deadpool' and the No 2 on the back as part of a marketing deal." The video "ends with a cameo by Deadpool himself, played by Ryan Reynolds," angrily declaring, "What in the Pogba" -- referring to the midfielder, absent from this film -- as he sees the players are not wearing "the official Deadpool kneepads," and says that he will "have Jose [Mourinho]'s head for this" (DAILY MAIL, 5/14).
PICKING UP THE PACE: Fox is ramping up its "The World Becomes the FIFA World Cup" ad campaign 30 days from the start of the tournament in Russia. A new ad, "This Summer," rolled out on Wednesday across multiple Fox-owned TV networks. The spot stars David Beckham, U.S. women’s int’l Alex Morgan, former boxer Evander Holyfield, NBA Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Reynolds. In a nod to the famous incident of Mike Tyson biting his ear, Holyfield watches Uruguay forward Luis Suárez, who is known for biting players, and critiques his past controversial tactics (Fox Sports). CREATIVITY-ONLINE's I-Hsien Sherwood reported the 90-second "star-studded spot ... plays up the amazing things to come" in the event. Lionel Messi becomes an anime "god" with blue hair, while ManU teammates Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial "become rivals as avatars" in the EA Sports "FIFA" video game. Other spots in the campaign touch on Mexico's "curse," the rivalry between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldo's scoring ability (CREATIVITY-ONLINE, 5/15).
