Beats by Dre Pays Homage to World Cup Rituals

By Ann Binlot Published June 8, 2014

The 2014 FIFA World Cup begins in Brazil in less than a week, and when it kicks off the world will go insane over the monthlong event where teams from around the globe battle it out on the soccer pitch. To celebrate, Beats by Dre, with the help of R/GA and Sword Fight, came up with an out-of-this-world five-minute film titled “The Game Before the Game” to promote their new Solo 2 headphones that’s all about World Cup rituals featuring an all-star cast of just about every cool soccer player on earth, plus a few famous athletes from other sports, as well as an appearance by some musicians you might have heard of.

Are you wondering who? Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, Neymar da Silva, Sr., LeBron James, Bacary Sagna, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Blaise Matuidi, Cesc Fàbregas, Daniel Sturridge, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Jozy Altidore, Luis Suárez, Mario Götze, Robin van Persie, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Rafaella Beckran, Serena Williams, Sydney Leroux, Stuart Scott, Rio Ferdinand and Thierry Henry.

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“The Game Before the Game” is like a music video set to “Jungle” by Jamie N Commons & The X Ambassadors. It starts out with Brazil’s Neymar participating in his pre-game ritual, calling his father, who himself is a former footballer. “Run like you’re a crazy man chasing happiness,” he tells his son in the unscripted advertisement. The game goes on to follow other players as they participate in their pre-game rituals, like Mexico’s Chicharito, who says a prayer on his knee and Spain’s Cesc Fabregas, who kisses a ring his girlfriend gave him.

We know athletes love their Beats by Dre headphones, and we couldn’t help but get in the World Cup spirit while watching this short film. We also got Henry’s 2014 World Cup prediction at a recent event in New York to promote it: “It’s going to be difficult for a team to beat Brazil in Brazil,” he said. After all, he should know, Henry helped his team France go all the way to the top during the 1998 World Cup in France.

Watch here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_i3Lcjli84

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ann Binlot is a New York-based freelance writer who contributes to publications like The Economist, Wallpaper*, Monocle…

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