Rick and Morty is now crossing over to the sports universe after a new partnership with Adidas was announced, and naturally, the German brand took advantage of the duo’s humor to create a unique ad featuring what is through and through a classic Rick and Morty adventure.
The animated show’s fifth season wrapped up in September of last year with a special finale that threatens to change the Rick and Morty universe forever. Nevertheless, the series’ popularity has also secured a new Rick and Morty anime, as well as the duo's likely inclusion in the MultiVersus platform fighter. Obviously, this is far from Rick and Morty's first dabbling with marketing campaigns, as evidenced by the series being used to promote a wide range of products like the PS5, Pringles, Wendy's, and Old Spice, meaning Don Draper has nothing on these two.
Their latest marketing adventure is very on-brand as Rick barges into Morty's room to present to him his latest idea, turn Morty into a football star (or soccer depending on where the ad airs, as Rick jokes). To achieve that, Rick has harnessed the talents of Egyptian Liverpool star Mohamed Salah and Dutch Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema, meaning EA's FIFA 23 is not the only property making sure to take note of the women’s side of the beautiful game. Watch the video to see the best of “Puppet Boy's” skills on the pitch.
Overall, the ad nails the tone of previous Rick and Morty marketing campaigns. It feels like something that could be turned into a full episode where Morty makes the best of using Salah's technique and Miedema's power of being able to enjoy dutch cuisine. In the end, despite Morty loving his football star status, and keeping true to the series’ randomness, Rick takes the green Adidas Speedportal cleats and sends them over to the company’s site where they can be purchased as part of a bigger line of football essentials.
Rick and Morty's sixth season is already in production, with showrunner Dan Harmon even revealing that work was being put into season seven as early as 2020, meaning the show should come back this year. Of course, Rick and Morty never truly fades away, as the online animated shorts are also an excellent way for fans to get extra content that’s just a bit outside the regular scope of the series’ style.
For some reason, despite the many crossovers showing their marketing chops, Rick and Morty's relationship with video games is much different. However, anyone missing the series can always enjoy some of its best episodes on Adult Swim.
Rick and Morty season 6 is expected to premiere in 2022.
Source: Adult Swim | YouTube, Adidas