14 DAY TRIAL // When it was first announced that David Beckham would no longer be the face (and body) of Armani Underwear, and that he would be replaced by another football star, Cristiano Ronaldo, many had serious doubts that he could actually be up for the task. The first shots from the new campaign with Ronaldo have just been released and, as the Daily Mail puts it, they show that anything Becks can do, Ronaldo can do it better.
The ads show the football star flexing his well defined muscles for the camera, while also frowning his perfectly manicured brows just enough to make him seem whimsical and, to some extent, brooding. Based on the comments of female fans on various forums, Ronaldo might actually be doing a better job that Beckham in terms of selling the famed brand – and that is quite a lot given the frenzy Becks’ old ads for Armani managed to ignite in the US and home in the UK.
Ronaldo, for his part, is thrilled to have been asked on board of the campaign. “I am very flattered to be asked to represent Armani; Giorgio Armani is a legend in the fashion world and I have long been a fan of his work. I am very pleased with the pictures we have done together – they are certainly striking and are full of an attitude and spirit that I can relate to,” the 24-year-old star says of the recently unveiled campaign.
Armani too couldn’t be happier with going with the Portuguese star for the new campaign. “Cristiano is a great looking man with the perfect physique of an athlete. For me, he is the essence of youth - spontaneous, exciting, a real maverick. It is for his energy that I have chosen Cristiano to become the new face of Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani Underwear – for his youthful, exciting and yes, [hot], attitude,” the famed designer says in a separate press statement.
In all fairness, as opposed to the ads featuring David Beckham, those with Ronaldo are much simpler in terms of image and focus: the most recent campaigns with Becks were deemed too “dark” to appeal to fans of the brand. Cristiano should come to save the day in this sense, it is being said.