John Woo Director's Award for Nike World Cup Commercial | 1999

Here we have a prestigious advertising award for John Woo's directing of the infamous Nike soccer commercial from 1998, courtesy of the Design and Art Direction association. This rare piece of history has links to John Woo (obviously), Quentin Tarantino, Lawrence Bender, Nike, a young Ronaldo, the World Cup, and one of the most influential commercials that's still going viral. 

Alright everyone, we'll take this step by step. 

First, here's the commercial directed by John Woo:

Second, here is the award page with all the details mirroring the info in the red stamp, courtesy of the Global Association for Creative Advertising & for Creative Advertising and Design Awards. Winner's can choose between a wood pencil trophy or a "graphite pencil", which is what you see here. 

Third, here is the intro snippet from the the Wikipedia page for A Band Apart productions. The page also mentions John Woo as a member.

A Band Apart Films was a production company founded by Quentin Tarantino, Michael Bodnarchek, and Lawrence Bender that was active from 1991 to 2006. Its name is a play on the French New Wave classic, Bande à part ("Band of Outsiders") by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, whose work was highly influential on the work of the company's members. Thanks in part to the popularity of Quentin Tarantino's and Robert Rodriguez's films, the company quickly gained cult-like status within Hollywood.

Fourth, check out this wicked article about the making of the commercial and the lasting impact, titled "Inside the Greatest Ad Ever: Nike's brilliant 1998 Brazil airport commercial – by those who made it"

Fifth, here's the wording from the red stamp, with additional links:

BRITISH DESIGN & ART DIRECTION 1999

CATEGORY
Television and Cinema Advertising (in ink)

SUB-CATEGORY
Television Commercials Over 60 Seconds (in ink)

PRESENTED TO
John Woo (in ink)

PRESIDENT RICHARD SEYMOUR
Richard Seymour (signature)

CHAIRMAN ANTHONY SIMONDS-GOODING
Anthony Simonds-Gooding (signature)

Ok, a breather. 

Alright, this rare piece of filmmaking and soccer history came out of the estate of the executive producer of the Nike commercial, who also co-founded A Band Apart and ran their commercial division. Here's an article telling the story of how this rare piece landed back in the Midwest.

The framed John Woo award measures 18" tall by 15" wide, with the exposed award measuring 13 1/2" tall by 10 1/2" wide. There is some evidence of waves in the paper. Please see all pics as they are part of the description. 

I ship to street addresses in the continental USA only (no PO boxes). I will pay shipping and insurance for the rare John Woo award. 

Can you imagine the story you can tell when you point to this beauty hanging on your wall? John Woo, Tarantino, the World Cup, the Soccer Airport Ad, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs...the ripples just expand. 

One of the best pieces I've ever owned. I still obsess over the films ofJohn Woo and Tarantino. I'm not alone on that one.