Back in the early-to-mid 2000s, Nike knocked it out the park with some of their adverts.We recently went in depth about their iconic ’Secret Tournament’ advert (if you want to know what happened to the 24 stars who featured in that advert, click HERE) and now it’s time to remember another classic.In 2004, Henry was unquestionably the Premier League’s best player. The Arsenal star came fourth in the race for the 2004 Ballon d’Or and had finished second the previous year.As well as being a supremely talented footballer, Henry was also incredibly marketable.Stylish, charming, charismatic… Henry was the complete package. So it was no surprise that Nike put him front and centre of their advertising campaign in 2004 - the year of the European Championships in Portugal.Many of you reading this may remember this 60-second advert. It’s not as famous as some of the other Nike ads from the past 20 years, but watching it will no doubt bring the memories flooding back.The advert sees Henry skilfully kicking a football around his house - wearing Total 90s, of course - while destroying windows and furniture in the process.
Henry thinks that he’s being chased by various high-profile opponents, including Edgar Davids, but when his neighbour looks out it soon becomes clear that it’s all in the striker’s head - he is actually playing football with his dog.Some of the best moments include an “Ole!” after one particularly sweet skill in his living room, and Henry saying “Sorry boss!” after smashing a photo of him and Wenger on the day he signed for Arsenal in 1999.But the most memorable moment sees a group of Manchester United players saying “boo!” to Henry before chasing him down the hallway.Louis Saha, Tim Howard, Mikael Silvestre, Paul Scholes, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Nicky Butt were the United players waiting to surprise Henry.Sir Alex Ferguson also appeared - although the legendary Manchester United manager doesn’t join in with the “boo!”, unfortunately.The advert ends with Henry finally being tackled by his dog, before he gets up and does a roulette out of the front door to continue his adventure.Watch the advert in full here...
Great memories!