Every year brings a wave of football kit launches that often feel repetitive: shirts rarely differ significantly from previous seasons, standard photography dominates, and predictable social media campaigns lead to launches being forgotten quickly.
Aston Villa and adidas sidestepped that problem, not by making a better shirt (though it is genuinely beautiful if that’s your taste ), but by creating a film that stands out before the product is even revealed.
The film mimics a Pathé newsreel, complete with grainy, fast-cut visuals and a traditional voiceover that sounds straight out of 1962, including the way “football” is said.
Featuring revered manager Unai Emery in period costume, a bold or comic move, it works because it fully commits. European Cup-winning captain Dennis Mortimer joins current players, and the project feels made by true fans of the era, rather than a creative team just applying a grain filter.
Why? The kit takes inspiration from Villa’s 1969/70 strip, the season Villa dropped from the Second to the Third Division, not exactly what the marketing department would want to highlight. The official story is that the kit is “inspired by the 1960s.” The clear truth: they’re celebrating one of the club’s low points, in the year they lifted the Europa League.
It’s an odd but compelling choice, a launch film that, played straight, would seem confused, but here supports complete, deadpan seriousness. It’s the only way to reconcile the contradiction and provide redemption for fans after winning a European trophy.
The irony lies in the visuals, not the script and a blessing since footballers rarely excel at acting (unless clutching their shins in the penalty box). You don’t need to explain the joke if the manager’s office features a 1960s overcoat.
It’s a clever move: embracing difficult history rather than ignoring it and hoping no one notices.
Villa wisely finds the human element in awkwardness and leans into it. Embracing discomfort brings out the club’s personality, appealing to both new and long-time fans.
Back of the net.
