Orange and French Football Federation team up to rally support for Les Bleues with mind-blowing deepfake

As soon as I saw this ad, my eyes were glued to it, as I am a football fan. S like other football fans, I can't help but watch to the end. To see every highlight, pass, and goal.

But not everything is what it seems.

The ad, called Bleues' Highlights, is a total mind-blower. It starts off showing great football highlights from French stars like Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann. You're thinking, "Wow, these guys are amazing!" But wait for it, halfway through the ad, they hit you with a big surprise – those jaw-dropping moments were actually pulled off by players from the women's French team! It's like a mic drop moment, showing everyone that women can bring their A-game too.

As soon as watched it, I had to out on my private account, and that was picked up by football-fanatic friends who tweeted it out as well. See, football fans can't help but watch it, which is why the rug-pull is so damned effective in the end.

It's a very clever use of "deepfake" to get the point across. You just enjoyed all of these exciting goals and masterful footie, and it wasn't done by the men's team, but the women's. For some football fans, who never watch the women's tournaments, this will come as a real eye-opener.

Even though women's football is gaining more attention, a bunch of guys at Durham University did a study and found that a whopping two-thirds of male football fans still have some seriously negative attitudes toward women's sports.

Kudos to the genius minds at agency Marcel, Paris, for coming up with this clever and eye-opening ad. It's about time we all cheer on women's football just as much as men's. Let's get ready to support the amazing athletes in the 2023 Women's World Cup! 🙌

Hands-down the best football partnership video I have ever seen and I have seen a lot, trust me! Watch until the end. cc: @Orange_France @dabitch @adland @DIF_Fotboll @ForzaFootball @equipedefrance @equipedefranceF
pic.twitter.com/yenhjqD2ik

— Mikael Pawlo (@mpawlo) July 16, 2023

The agency went through over 80 games in the FFF’s archives to source the footage and achieved seamless special effects using deepfake technology.

Following the reveal, the ad displays the message: ‘At Orange, when we support les Bleus, we support les Bleues’ – referring to both the masculine and feminine forms of the word and showing Orange’s support to French football as a whole.

The campaign launched on 28 June in sports publications such as L'Équipe and TV channels like BeIN Sports. It was also promoted on the FFF’s platforms and by influencers on YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat.

Even the French Minister of Sports and World Cup-winning athletes shared the video on their Twitter account. According to ad agency Marcel, the ad has already been viewed 15 million times, has generated 50 articles, and has been discussed on the nightly news in France as well.