Adidas celebrates Lionel Messi's return to Barcelona following his disappointing World Cup by turning him into a panther to promote the brand's Adizero f50 football boots.
The ad was directed by Luc Schurgers through Radical Media, in collaboration with Iris Worldwide. The ad was written by Pete Ioulianou and art directed by Ollie Agius.
The production team at Radical Media shot the Argentinean striker on a green screen. The Mill’s studio then developed each shot using techniques including rotoscopy (an animation method that traces over video) and grading (a process to enhance colour).
The Mill then used AFX and Flash animation techniques to create the digital panther, flaming ball and animations of exploding goals.
Adidas projected the shots onto buildings, streets, parks and cars, and Schurgers shot footage of the images.
Tom Wansbrough-Jones, the design director at The Mill, said: "It was an exciting prospect to create a series of shots that would eventually be projected onto the streets and buildings all over Barcelona.
"Integrating live action footage with hand-drawn animation and then projecting all of this onto physical real-life objects, gave the whole piece an extra dimension."
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