It is no huge disrespect to the acting chops and on-screen charisma of the likes of Cole Palmer, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Sam Kerr and Anthony Gordon to point out that, at some stage, someone realised kit launch videos needed a few extra ingredients. A bunch of players standing around showing off their new threads was no longer cutting it.
A medium that once involved star strikers beaming on the touchline in an empty stadium (RIP, the 1990s) was crying out for an injection of swagger. That’s where the current trend of clubs enlisting famous musician fans to energise their videos comes in, with many crafting promo clips designed to take their supporters on a slickly produced narrative journey. The kit launch content race is upon us.
It’s been building. Ever since adidas featured then up-and-coming rapper Stormzy in a promo announcing the return of Paul Pogba to Manchester United in 2016, clubs and the creative studios they work with have increasingly leant on artists to add some artistic kudos to their roll-outs. The union seemed to reach a new peak this summer as a clutch of teams put famous musicians front and centre.
Leading the way were Chelsea, who built their kit-launch video around Madness’ indelible classic Our House, with the band’s frontman Suggs starring in the promo along with west London rapper Central Cee and Ezra Collective’s trumpet dynamo Ife Ogunjobi. Across town, meanwhile, Ogunjobi’s Arsenal-loving bandmate Femi Koleoso popped up playing drums in the Gunners’ clip to unveil new signing Martín Zubimendi. The concept linking the duo? “Controlling the tempo.”
It's possible that Femi might be wishing he’d kept his powder dry so he could have appeared in the video announcing Arsenal’s signing of his good friend Eberechi Eze a few weeks later. Instead, that honour was left to the soulful croon of Sampha and his 2013 contemplative ballad Indecision, which soundtracked the clip.
The running theme across these kit-launch videos is that musicians and their songs are a great way to disguise the fact that most of the players in these videos are loafing around looking a little bit moody, occasionally growling into the camera in their fresh new uniforms.
At least the Newcastle players looked like they were having a laugh in the launch video for their third kit, which saw North Shields indie superstar Sam Fender rocking up at the Tyneside Irish Centre to lead an audience of players and fans – including People Just Do Nothing actor Asim Chaudhry – through the winding intro to Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero, written by fellow Toon supporter Mark Knopfler. The song doesn’t actually kick in until the very end so quite what Dan Burn was dancing to, no one knows.
It was clearer in Scotland, where the heady strums of Primal Scream’s Movin’ On Up animated Celtic’s kit video this July, elevating what would otherwise have been a mundane shot of everyone awkwardly watching Henrik Larsson playing pool. Thank the DJ for that, even if he was playing his own song – it’s Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie behind the decks.
The artists don’t always have to be visible to make their presence felt, though. Brighton’s kit launch was soundtracked by Royal Blood, whose drummer Ben Thatcher is a big Seagulls fan, the feral stomp of their 2017 cut I Only Lie When I Love You only partially diluted by Lewis Dunk’s acting skills. As for Crystal Palace, the FA Cup winners got expert help on that front from rapper and actor Ben Bailey Smith heading up their launch, with dubstep star Katy B also making an appearance.
But perhaps the best collaboration came last summer, when Aston Villa teamed up with Birmingham metal icons Black Sabbath to introduce their home kit for the 2024/25 season. “I’m the best frontman to ever come out of Birmingham,” declared Ozzy Osbourne. A year later, just weeks before his death, the band played an emotional farewell show at Villa Park, and no one doubted it.
It is no huge disrespect to the acting chops and on-screen charisma of the likes of Cole Palmer, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Sam Kerr and Anthony Gordon to point out that, at some stage, someone realised kit launch videos needed a few extra ingredients. A bunch of players standing around showing off their new threads was no longer cutting it.
A medium that once involved star strikers beaming on the touchline in an empty stadium (RIP, the 1990s) was crying out for an injection of swagger. That’s where the current trend of clubs enlisting famous musician fans to energise their videos comes in, with many crafting promo clips designed to take their supporters on a slickly produced narrative journey. The kit launch content race is upon us.
It’s been building. Ever since adidas featured then up-and-coming rapper Stormzy in a promo announcing the return of Paul Pogba to Manchester United in 2016, clubs and the creative studios they work with have increasingly leant on artists to add some artistic kudos to their roll-outs. The union seemed to reach a new peak this summer as a clutch of teams put famous musicians front and centre.
Leading the way were Chelsea, who built their kit-launch video around Madness’ indelible classic Our House, with the band’s frontman Suggs starring in the promo along with west London rapper Central Cee and Ezra Collective’s trumpet dynamo Ife Ogunjobi. Across town, meanwhile, Ogunjobi’s Arsenal-loving bandmate Femi Koleoso popped up playing drums in the Gunners’ clip to unveil new signing Martín Zubimendi. The concept linking the duo? “Controlling the tempo.”
It's possible that Femi might be wishing he’d kept his powder dry so he could have appeared in the video announcing Arsenal’s signing of his good friend Eberechi Eze a few weeks later. Instead, that honour was left to the soulful croon of Sampha and his 2013 contemplative ballad Indecision, which soundtracked the clip.
The running theme across these kit-launch videos is that musicians and their songs are a great way to disguise the fact that most of the players in these videos are loafing around looking a little bit moody, occasionally growling into the camera in their fresh new uniforms.
At least the Newcastle players looked like they were having a laugh in the launch video for their third kit, which saw North Shields indie superstar Sam Fender rocking up at the Tyneside Irish Centre to lead an audience of players and fans – including People Just Do Nothing actor Asim Chaudhry – through the winding intro to Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero, written by fellow Toon supporter Mark Knopfler. The song doesn’t actually kick in until the very end so quite what Dan Burn was dancing to, no one knows.
It was clearer in Scotland, where the heady strums of Primal Scream’s Movin’ On Up animated Celtic’s kit video this July, elevating what would otherwise have been a mundane shot of everyone awkwardly watching Henrik Larsson playing pool. Thank the DJ for that, even if he was playing his own song – it’s Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie behind the decks.
The artists don’t always have to be visible to make their presence felt, though. Brighton’s kit launch was soundtracked by Royal Blood, whose drummer Ben Thatcher is a big Seagulls fan, the feral stomp of their 2017 cut I Only Lie When I Love You only partially diluted by Lewis Dunk’s acting skills. As for Crystal Palace, the FA Cup winners got expert help on that front from rapper and actor Ben Bailey Smith heading up their launch, with dubstep star Katy B also making an appearance.
But perhaps the best collaboration came last summer, when Aston Villa teamed up with Birmingham metal icons Black Sabbath to introduce their home kit for the 2024/25 season. “I’m the best frontman to ever come out of Birmingham,” declared Ozzy Osbourne. A year later, just weeks before his death, the band played an emotional farewell show at Villa Park, and no one doubted it.
It is no huge disrespect to the acting chops and on-screen charisma of the likes of Cole Palmer, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Sam Kerr and Anthony Gordon to point out that, at some stage, someone realised kit launch videos needed a few extra ingredients. A bunch of players standing around showing off their new threads was no longer cutting it.
A medium that once involved star strikers beaming on the touchline in an empty stadium (RIP, the 1990s) was crying out for an injection of swagger. That’s where the current trend of clubs enlisting famous musician fans to energise their videos comes in, with many crafting promo clips designed to take their supporters on a slickly produced narrative journey. The kit launch content race is upon us.
It’s been building. Ever since adidas featured then up-and-coming rapper Stormzy in a promo announcing the return of Paul Pogba to Manchester United in 2016, clubs and the creative studios they work with have increasingly leant on artists to add some artistic kudos to their roll-outs. The union seemed to reach a new peak this summer as a clutch of teams put famous musicians front and centre.
Leading the way were Chelsea, who built their kit-launch video around Madness’ indelible classic Our House, with the band’s frontman Suggs starring in the promo along with west London rapper Central Cee and Ezra Collective’s trumpet dynamo Ife Ogunjobi. Across town, meanwhile, Ogunjobi’s Arsenal-loving bandmate Femi Koleoso popped up playing drums in the Gunners’ clip to unveil new signing Martín Zubimendi. The concept linking the duo? “Controlling the tempo.”
It's possible that Femi might be wishing he’d kept his powder dry so he could have appeared in the video announcing Arsenal’s signing of his good friend Eberechi Eze a few weeks later. Instead, that honour was left to the soulful croon of Sampha and his 2013 contemplative ballad Indecision, which soundtracked the clip.
The running theme across these kit-launch videos is that musicians and their songs are a great way to disguise the fact that most of the players in these videos are loafing around looking a little bit moody, occasionally growling into the camera in their fresh new uniforms.
At least the Newcastle players looked like they were having a laugh in the launch video for their third kit, which saw North Shields indie superstar Sam Fender rocking up at the Tyneside Irish Centre to lead an audience of players and fans – including People Just Do Nothing actor Asim Chaudhry – through the winding intro to Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero, written by fellow Toon supporter Mark Knopfler. The song doesn’t actually kick in until the very end so quite what Dan Burn was dancing to, no one knows.
It was clearer in Scotland, where the heady strums of Primal Scream’s Movin’ On Up animated Celtic’s kit video this July, elevating what would otherwise have been a mundane shot of everyone awkwardly watching Henrik Larsson playing pool. Thank the DJ for that, even if he was playing his own song – it’s Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie behind the decks.
The artists don’t always have to be visible to make their presence felt, though. Brighton’s kit launch was soundtracked by Royal Blood, whose drummer Ben Thatcher is a big Seagulls fan, the feral stomp of their 2017 cut I Only Lie When I Love You only partially diluted by Lewis Dunk’s acting skills. As for Crystal Palace, the FA Cup winners got expert help on that front from rapper and actor Ben Bailey Smith heading up their launch, with dubstep star Katy B also making an appearance.
But perhaps the best collaboration came last summer, when Aston Villa teamed up with Birmingham metal icons Black Sabbath to introduce their home kit for the 2024/25 season. “I’m the best frontman to ever come out of Birmingham,” declared Ozzy Osbourne. A year later, just weeks before his death, the band played an emotional farewell show at Villa Park, and no one doubted it.
