The Big Leap

Why it works

A man sits a few centimetres from the woman he loves, working up the nerve for a first kiss, and the film turns that moment into a literal plunge: he leaps into the void and falls without knowing where he will land. Directed by Seb Edwards for BETC Paris, with visual effects by MPC, it was Lacoste's first advertising film and launched the brand promise “Life is a beautiful sport”, recasting the tennis label's founding values of tenacity and panache as an everyday, emotional courage. It is studied as a case of sports-brand values translated into romance, with the polo shirt reduced to a supporting role and the idea carried by one metaphor. It premiered in France during the 2014 Winter Olympics before rolling out worldwide, was recognised at the One Show in 2015, and, BETC reports, made Flume's remix of Disclosure's “You & Me” a hit, reaching No. 2 in the French charts.