Sergio Gordilho talks #BeSpider

Sergio Gordilho, CCO and co-president of Africa Brazil, discusses about his latest ad for Budweiser, featuring mixed martial arts fighter Anderson Silva. The spot takes us on a journey from Silva’s agonising last fight, where his leg was brutally snapped, to his epic comeback which will be on the 31 January against Nick Diaz.  

Chris Weidman (below left) blocked Silva’s kick, breaking his leg in a gut-wrenching moment.

What was the brief from Budweiser?

Budweiser has been sponsoring Silva for the last three years. And in the most important moment of his career Bud could not miss the opportunity to support him, to say hey, champ, I am here! I believe in you!
That was our brief: show all our support to our hero.
 

Why did you decide that a two-minute film would be best approach for campaign?

We needed to tell his whole story, metaphorically, in order to involve our consumers, to entertain them. We needed to make them feel what it takes to shape a hero, how tough this long ride of coming back is. And great stories need more time to be told.

What were Silva’s first thoughts on the concept and was he involved in the creative process at all?

He was involved since the first scratch. He had to buy the idea otherwise it could be a waste of time. Fighters are gladiators, they don't like to talk about failures, bad times.
So we had a lunch and I told him the main idea. Imagine how scared I was. He is such a great guy but you can never forget he is the best fighter of all time and he could get pissed off...

Potentially being a career ending injury, was he happy to focus on the leg break?

No he was not. It was the worst time in his life and when we are hit in life by a bad wave we always try to forget it. Most people didn't trust he could return to fighting. But the heroes always come from the ashes, from the bottom of the hole. And he is a hero.

Silva comes across in interviews as a very calm and genuine guy; did these attributes come across when working with him?

He is one of the most polite and calm guys I've ever worked with.

How long was the shoot and tell us about the biggest challenge?

We shot two days with Mr. Silva and three more with the scenery plus a month of post production.

Did Dana White (UFC president) have any involvement in the ad?

He approved the film.

Will the film be aired leading up to the big fight in January?

Yes. And we hope it gives Mr. Silva even more strength to win the fight and show the world why he is known as a spider. Spiders never give up!