He Shoots, She Scores! Shooting Sports with Merman
Margot Bowman: As a dedicated footie fan and boxing enthusiast, Margot Bowman loves translating her passion for sport to the screen. Most recently her campaign for Adobe and Women’s FA Cup looks to create a new visual language that reframes the familiar and authentically captures the community, energy and inclusivity that’s central to the women’s game.
Michel & Nico: Brother and former professional rugby players Michel & Nico bring the same level of integrity and synergy to their filmmaking as they once did to the pitch. Honing their craft initially through self-funded documentaries, the duo have grabbed the attention of Red Bull, Sky Sports, BBC, Lucozade, Under Armour and scored mass acclaim for their work with William Hill.
Tomboy: Tomboy run a good race, often tapping into subcultures within sport to capture the stories of unsung heroes and the marginal gains that led to their feat. The directing duo’s campaign for MilkPEP took them to the street to seek out real youth, casting barrel racers, steer riders, Muay Thai fighters and a cheerleading squad, amongst others.
Adobe X Women’s FA Margot Bowman
Q> What is it about Sports advertising that is particularly appealing to you?
TOMBOY> There’s an innate passion and physicality within the world of sport that acts as a creative catalyst, pushing us to match the energy of what we’re capturing by using every tool we have from camerawork to sound design. Sport is immersive so it’s always our goal going in to create a piece of work that reflects that.
Margot Bowman> I love how sports create a platform for us to look at power, identity, and gender through this heightened lens. It's a canvas for telling human stories and a bridge to build connections between each other.
Michel & Nico> Being former athletes, sports films are why we got into advertising. I remember it vividly - Spring 2010 - I'm in a hotel room filming a rugby documentary about the Biarritz Olympique rugby team during their Champions Cup journey. I'm scouring the web for references and inspiration when I stumble upon the commercial that changed everything - Nike's 'Write the Future'. I immediately sent it to Nico, joking, "One day, we've got to do something like this." Seven years later, we found ourselves pitching a Nike World Cup film with W+K Amsterdam. Nike was the driving force behind why we entered the industry transitioning from documentary into advertising.
Q> What’s the most challenging sport you have filmed? And what’s the one you’d most like to film?
Michel & Nico> We’re rugby guys at heart, but we’ve got a real soft spot for boxing and combat sports. It's straightforward, intimate; you can light it exactly how you want.
More recently, thanks to my son's passion and skill level, I've been delving into skateboarding films. You might think it's an easy sport to shoot because there's so much skateboarding content out there. But let me tell you, it's the complete opposite. Sure, you can film skateboarding in countless ways but it’s mostly shit. Finding the right approach? That's a whole other story.
TOMBOY> We’ve filmed a fair amount of sport that involves horses which demands a thoughtful approach as horses are easily startled so getting close to them while filming can be difficult. But their presence, movement and physicality is incredibly cinematic and well worth the challenges. We were happy with the horse scenes in our Milk, 'Be More' spot. Our approach on that shoot was K.I.S.S - Keep It Simple, Stupid. Everything was shot handheld from the back of a Gator. On other shoots we’ve used drones, Russian arms and various cranes but that one worked the best.
We’re quite keen to continue filming equestrian sports as there are so many that interest us, such as racing, rodeo and polo. Though it’s always a challenge they offer unique opportunities to tell unexpected stories in a visceral and vivid way.
Q> Women’s sports are finally having a moment. Do you think commercials such as 'This Girl Can' and more recently brand sponsorship around Women’s FA have helped elevate it? Do you think we’ll see more advertising for women’s sports since it’s become more popular?
Margot Bowman> There’s such an exciting opportunity to really create and own an authentic language for women's sports that doesn't just parrot tropes from men's sports advertising. The power and creativity of women’s sport is truly unlike any other and audiences are being drawn to them because of it. With these new audiences come new opportunities for brands and storytelling - I can’t wait to get stuck in :)
Q> Do you think you have to be a fan of the sport in order to get the desired effect in the commercial?
Michel & Nico> You've got to have a passion for sport - not just for the sport itself, but for the whole vibe, the energy surrounding it. You can spot it a mile off when a commercial is put together by someone who doesn't truly understand the spirit of the sport. There's just something about it that you can't fake - it's got to be in your blood!
TOMBOY> Sport is just a framework; the stories that live inside of sports touch upon so many human experiences. It’s more important to be a fan of storytelling.
Margot Bowman> Like all storytelling, there are localised nuances and there are universal truths. Playing or loving the sport helps for sure - but being a filmmaker starts from a place of deep empathy and finding connections and common ground between your own experiences and those of the stories you're telling. Along with this foundation, collaborating with HODs and/or cast that are authentic members of that sports community wherever possible give the film a sense of truth that the audience can always feel.
Q> What are your thoughts on inclusivity and representation within sports advertising these days?
Margot Bowman> It's amazing to see how many more people we're celebrating as athletes and as sports heroes but there's always more that we can do, especially when we're looking at teams behind the camera. I hope that the future of sports advertising is as inclusive as the teams and athletes that we look up to.
Q> It seems it's more about the aspiration and less about the ‘stars’. Or is this just down to budget restrictions and availability?
Margot Bowman> The power of the fans across all cultures has been heightened exponentially by social media and in heightening their voices we make more room for them within the storytelling. The power of the star is still there but they are far more aware of the audiences who keep them there than ever before.
TOMBOY> Perhaps we’re at a place and time where people are looking to connect to stories that feel more accessible and actionable and that they can imagine themselves into more.
Michel & Nico> It's always about creativity, first and foremost.
Before delving into adverts, during our free time and because we're nerds, Nico and I decided to embark on creating a super ambitious short film based on a commercial Nike did in 1992 for the Basketball Dream Team - full animation, an amazing piece of work! We said to ourselves, 'We don't have any money, we don't have access to any athletes, but we have time. Time to learn how to create an animation piece of work...'
Four months later, working every night, we uploaded a fake Nike commercial for the 2011 Rugby World Cup on YouTube. One week later, that fake commercial was airing on French TV (don't ask me how) - we freaked out, thinking we would have problems with Nike. And we took the film off the net. Three weeks later, Davide Grasso, Nike Vice President in Portland (now Converse President), wrote me an email telling how much he and his team liked and respected what we did.
No money, two laptops, two crazy nerds... 120 sleepless nights... That's what it's all about, not about the aspirations or the budget restrictions... It's just about giving opportunities, or creating yours.
Q> And finally, the best sports commercial of all time for you?
Margot Bowman> It has to be Nike. 'Dream Crazier' directed by Kim Gehrig, 'Find Your Greatness' by Lance Accord, Jonathan Glazer’s Nike Air Jordan XII 'Frozen Moment'
TOMBOY> For us it would be 'Rule Yourself' by Martin De Thurah for Under Armour/ Team USA Gymnastics and 'Leave Nothing' by Michael Mann for Nike Football
Michel & Nico> Under Armour 'Rule Yourself' is the one film that caught our eye, making us think, "Okay, maybe this is something we could tackle. The best of the best in our memory is and always will be Nike’s 'Good versus Evil' and the iconic Eric Cantona’s last quote - and I believe as a French man we will end like him in the film - "Au revoir!"
Below: Michel & Nico (photo credit: RileySmith)
