If you were looking for somewhere to see something extraordinary last night, then your eyes should have been firmly affixed on the Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich took Barcelona to task in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. With a place at Wembley on the cards, the German side looked' indomitable, putting four past the Spanish side (with some questionable tactics, arguably).
But, if you could peel your eyes away from the goings-on on the field of play last night, there was something pretty interesting happening about 2-3 metres off it, too.
At bang on the 42nd minute adidas hoardings lit up the Allianz touchlines – and whilst that’s not anything particularly impressive at a Champions League tie, their content definitely raised a few eyebrows.
Several of the boards around the stadium invited fans to ‘NitroCharge their game’ – a name that isn’t a term or silo name we currently associate with the three stripes.
However, there’s no doubt that adidas have something stowed up their sleeve that they’re just allowing to creep into the limelight – why else would they put it on show if they didn’t want people to see it?
Some Footy-Boots.com staffers considered the possibility that it could be an extension of the ‘Boost’ campaign that adidas have been pushing over the last few months, but it’s positioning in a high-profile football tie would imply it’s a new football product of some sort.
adidas have already begun to ramp up their activity as we head towards what is usually their busiest month. As official partner to the Champions League, adidas have a storied history of pulling out all the stops as the Final rolls around.
Whilst we’re used to seeing black-out boots and the like, it’s rare we’ll see an advert slipped in ‘under the radar’ during a big game.
That said, adidas are no strangers to innovative advertising – their launch of the Predator LZ in 2012 was one of the most interesting and involving we’ve ever seen, and it could be they’re aiming for something a little different, too, with the NitroCharge.
We’re definitely looking forward to seeing what NitroCharge is, and what adidas are planning as we head towards it’s inevitable reveal!
Will we see more NitroCharge' ads on display when Borussia Dortmund take on Real Madrid tonight? Keep your eyes peeled and let us know if you spot any!
Come on footy-boots there are countless of pictures of the nitrocharge in the internet and have been up for a while. Im surprised you didn’t know about it.
Its not that they don’t know about it. They just won’t say it, the same with the Nike Hypervenom Phantom (Neymars prototype boots) it was quite annoying that they didn’t just say it could be the Hypervenom. They were like ” we wonder what it could be(!) let us know in the comments”. All the other websites that are about football boots have said it ,but why not Footy-Boots. Its highly unlikely that they don’t know about it as ordinary people like me know about it. For some annoying reason they won’t say it. I think they want to build some hype around it when everyone else has clearly seen the images on Google.
Damn it…
Of course they know about it. Just can’t say it because are under adidas’ stack of money. Very disappointed in how you have transformed form an independent boot fanatic site to ca cheap copy of soccerbible.
@312da2cbed1404c0e9b8e4c1ee565c43:disqus @google-58ce0d019fd4d9767459b30e11bf7eee:disqus
Just wanted to clear up any misconceptions you might have, guys, and I’ll do my very best to be as honest and open as I can with you all about the process (and if I leave anything to question, feel free to ask and I’ll answer any more.
We’re fortunate enough to work closely with some of the best names in the industry, and yes we absolutely are lucky enough to know about upcoming releases (and, yes, we see the same leaked images you do!) but leaking one new boot release only brings us one good piece of content on something that isn’t on sale yet.
If we play along with the brands marketing, that means that – today for example – we can post one piece where all the assets are pre-prepared, in addition to all the boot-spots, viral ads, player interviews etc. as well as the eventual big reveal.
So, by doing this piece today meant we could spend a bit more time on putting together our video piece on the Speciali 4 (which will likely be live tomorrow).
In other words, the bread and butter stuff today gives us the time to produce the original content we love to make. We aim to post at least one new post per day, so it helps to spread things out a little.
As for being under any sort of payroll – it’s something we absolutely don’t do. We’re completely independent, and you’ll notice we’ve actually stripped back on ad space on the new version of the site.
Also, @489b833af01cdf455d8b111ca99f09d3:disqus – SoccerBible are a great site run by some exceptionally dedicated guys – but REMEMBER – we were founded first 😀
So, I’ll throw it open – if we didn’t run teaser things like this anymore (and remember adidas, Nike etc. don’t ask us to do these things – we’re pretty sure they’re like it if we didn’t) what would you like to see MORE of from us?
Reviews? Comparison Videos? From the Sole-style editorials? Give us your feedback guys, and I promise we will react!
Hey Kyle, more reviews by a long shot. I’ve stopped reading footyboots as much these days. If I want to look at new releases I go to soccerbible and If I want reviews I look up Josh on Soccerreviews For You or Bryan on Soccercleats101. Somewhere footyboots lost its appeal.
That’s a fair comment, James – I know you’ve been reading the site a long time (probably longer than I’ve been writing, in fact!) so thanks sincerely for the feedback.
More reviews are something we can definitely do, especially now the summer’s here again. It sounds like a crummy excuse, but we like our imagery to be the best it can be with a review (otherwise we might as well use stock imagery of the boots!) so with us having snow until about 3 weeks ago, it hasn’t been the best time to review cleats!
Thanks Kyle, as a consumer and I buy boots quite a lot (play 5-a-side twice a week, train and weekend games) so I like to know reviews about the latest boots coming out before I buy them. Especially Pre Season. But I think you could maybe also cover AG or Astro boot reviews. I think lot of your readers on here play small sided games and no doubt like to pick up a good pair of boots. Something like the new Nike Bomba. I know you’re probably aware of Josh’s site and he has new reviews pretty much every day. Not play tests but at least some reviews to give you an idea on any new tech or materials in the boot. Your play videos of the past are also good so maybe knock a few of them up. I bought the Adidas Adipower based on your video review so they do work!
@KyleFB Thanks for the response Kyle, I appreciate it. I like the idea of the ‘teaser things’ and I totally understand the logic behind it. I’m sorry if my original post was a bit harsh. By the way did you see the Nitrocharge teaser during the second leg, it was displayed for a long time.
Am I right in thinking that ‘The Engine’ will wear adidas’s new silo?
I also have a question which doesn’t run with the topic, which I hope you could answer:
You know the AG football boots, they are designed for 3g pitches, but I was wondering whether they are suitable for the sandy astor turf? Thanks
P.S Is a Puma Powercat 1 review coming anytime soon?
Hey Adrian – no worries! It’s all good feedback and I hope we can bring things back around for everyone that’s taken the time to comment!
Yeah, it’s building up now – expect big things come the finals in Amsterdam and London! And absolutely – the idea of ‘The Engine’ will likely be integral to the message behind the new silo.
AG Boots will take a little more abrasion than the FG or SG boots, but it depends on the style of stud they use – firm plastic will slip on a sandy pitch, whereas some AG boots like the Bomba Finale II are more rubbery, so give a little more grip.
PowerCat – indeed, we have a pair in the office, so we’ll aim to get those photographed and reviewed ASAP.
Again, thanks for the feedback and reading the site
@KyleFB Thanks for answering my question. I look forward to the Powercat review.
First I’ve heard of the nitro charge so quite keen to hear more.