You might have started seeing them somewhere, those TV, website, magazine and newspaper advertisings bearing some sign that reminds us that the World Cup is coming in 'only' six months' time.
On the subject of football, and footballers, as testimonials for products and services, Italy has a long history, so we can expect a significant number of azzurri will be used to flog anything from razors to pin needles, but rarely has taste and savvy planning got in the way of the advertising agencies who launch those kinds of campaigns.
The biggest name on screen in the last few years, and one that is sure to again appear more and more frequently during the run-up to the World Cup, is Alessandro Del Piero. Which has been both a blessing and a source of embarrassment, for him.
For a number of years, Del Piero has been the public face of a brand of mineral water Uliveto, also the official supplier to the azzurri. The script writers were probably overfatigued when they wrote the storyline. In a variety of situations and locations, Del Piero has been extolling the virtues of said water to a... bird. The little critter flies into the dining room while Del Piero is having lunch and, once safely perched atop a chair's back, has a short conversation with him in a falsetto voice.
In another sequence, a flight attendant brings Del Piero a glass of water but the Juve player kindly turns it down, saying that he's already got his own bottle, all the while trying to keep from her the fact he's also talking to the little bird, concealed under a folded newspaper.
Unfortunately, this series, which in itself helps project as clean an image of Del Piero as of the mineral water, became a nightmare as soon as opposing fans and common people got hold of it. While 'bird' may have a regular meaning in the British Isles but also a second, less noble one, its Italian equivalent also takes on the meaning of, er, a lower part of the male body which is usually well hidden in underwear.
Thus, an endless stream of puns and jibes about Del Piero talking to his 'bird' on TV. The latest parts of the series, still featuring the 'feathered little one' but with an increasingly marginal role (birds, too, have perhaps been unionized and asked for fewer working hours), have Del Piero interacting with 2004 Miss Italy Cristina Chiabotto, a self-confessed Juventus fan whom Alex pretends not to be nice to while both are at an airport restaurant.
Interestingly, the Italian automaker FIAT, owned by the Agnelli family, also major shareholders in Juventus, never thought Del Piero would make for a great advertising character.
A few years ago, a new FIAT car was launched with Christian Vieri and Francesco Totti as testimonials, while as recently as last August Lapo Elkann, Gianni Agnelli's nephew and head of FIAT marketing arm before plunging into unfortunate personal trouble, remarked that if such need arose he'd choose Roma's (soon somebody else's) Antonio Cassano as the face of a new, youth-oriented car, and it was left to Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari, to add that this should not be meant as a slight to Del Piero, because as a more mature, older person, he'd be the perfect face for a Maserati or Ferrari.
All those middle-aged lads showing off their Ferraris at the weekend by going 170mph on a provincial road are mature then.
On the subject of footballers and advertising, some of the better-looking azzurri may get another endorsement contract from one or two fashion houses, but they'd be careful not to thread on the path of the official suppliers of clothing to the national teams or individual clubs. As one would expect, Milan's Alessandro Nesta has appeared in fashion ads, and so has, surprisingly, Paolo Cannavaro, the younger brother of Juve's Fabio.
'Surprisingly' means that Paolo Cannavaro, a defender for lowly Parma, looks a lot like Fabio but does not have, of course, the same appeal, although judging by the stern-jawed picture used for his clothing ad, you wouldn't know.
On the subject of football, and footballers, as testimonials for products and services, Italy has a long history, so we can expect a significant number of azzurri will be used to flog anything from razors to pin needles, but rarely has taste and savvy planning got in the way of the advertising agencies who launch those kinds of campaigns.
The biggest name on screen in the last few years, and one that is sure to again appear more and more frequently during the run-up to the World Cup, is Alessandro Del Piero. Which has been both a blessing and a source of embarrassment, for him.
For a number of years, Del Piero has been the public face of a brand of mineral water Uliveto, also the official supplier to the azzurri. The script writers were probably overfatigued when they wrote the storyline. In a variety of situations and locations, Del Piero has been extolling the virtues of said water to a... bird. The little critter flies into the dining room while Del Piero is having lunch and, once safely perched atop a chair's back, has a short conversation with him in a falsetto voice.
In another sequence, a flight attendant brings Del Piero a glass of water but the Juve player kindly turns it down, saying that he's already got his own bottle, all the while trying to keep from her the fact he's also talking to the little bird, concealed under a folded newspaper.
Unfortunately, this series, which in itself helps project as clean an image of Del Piero as of the mineral water, became a nightmare as soon as opposing fans and common people got hold of it. While 'bird' may have a regular meaning in the British Isles but also a second, less noble one, its Italian equivalent also takes on the meaning of, er, a lower part of the male body which is usually well hidden in underwear.
Thus, an endless stream of puns and jibes about Del Piero talking to his 'bird' on TV. The latest parts of the series, still featuring the 'feathered little one' but with an increasingly marginal role (birds, too, have perhaps been unionized and asked for fewer working hours), have Del Piero interacting with 2004 Miss Italy Cristina Chiabotto, a self-confessed Juventus fan whom Alex pretends not to be nice to while both are at an airport restaurant.
Interestingly, the Italian automaker FIAT, owned by the Agnelli family, also major shareholders in Juventus, never thought Del Piero would make for a great advertising character.
A few years ago, a new FIAT car was launched with Christian Vieri and Francesco Totti as testimonials, while as recently as last August Lapo Elkann, Gianni Agnelli's nephew and head of FIAT marketing arm before plunging into unfortunate personal trouble, remarked that if such need arose he'd choose Roma's (soon somebody else's) Antonio Cassano as the face of a new, youth-oriented car, and it was left to Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari, to add that this should not be meant as a slight to Del Piero, because as a more mature, older person, he'd be the perfect face for a Maserati or Ferrari.
All those middle-aged lads showing off their Ferraris at the weekend by going 170mph on a provincial road are mature then.
On the subject of footballers and advertising, some of the better-looking azzurri may get another endorsement contract from one or two fashion houses, but they'd be careful not to thread on the path of the official suppliers of clothing to the national teams or individual clubs. As one would expect, Milan's Alessandro Nesta has appeared in fashion ads, and so has, surprisingly, Paolo Cannavaro, the younger brother of Juve's Fabio.
'Surprisingly' means that Paolo Cannavaro, a defender for lowly Parma, looks a lot like Fabio but does not have, of course, the same appeal, although judging by the stern-jawed picture used for his clothing ad, you wouldn't know.
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