England Skipper Faces The Heat With Lucozade Sport

Lucozade Sport, the official sports drink of the England Football Team, has launched a new film, ‘Lucozade Sport Conditions Zone – the Heat’, which sees the national side captain Steven Gerrard melted using CGI and 3D body scanning technology to highlight the brand’s new ‘Conditions Zone’.

Part of the sports drink’s Fuel to Rule campaign, the Lucozade Sport Conditions Zone in Canary Wharf is a unique 5-a-side venue that will give amateur players the chance to play in the same heat and humidity that their footballing heroes will face this summer in Brazil – expected to be around 32 degrees, with 76% humidity. 

Gerrard, who is joined in this summer’s England World Cup squad by fellow brand ambassador Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, returned in his role with Lucozade Sport earlier this year for the launch of its £10 million advertising campaign, Fuel to Rule.  

Commenting on the filming for the ad, the England captain said: ‘The weirdest thing on the day was definitely taking a 3D scan of my body. I had to stand on turning plates which rotated me whilst millions of cameras took photos from absolutely every angle. The whole process was actually really quick though, which made seeing the final version and watching yourself melting on camera even stranger and very surreal.’

The film is narrated by British actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, and begins with a close-up of the hairs on the back of the midfielder’s neck prickling in a wave of heat, causing the England captain to slowly melt.

• Watch the video at Sport Industry TV

Chris Cairns, director, added: ‘What does a human being melting look like? And how do we achieve that look on film? We investigated making and melting wax models before settling on a fully CG approach – we didn’t want to be slaves to physics in our quest for the best look. As well as standard shots, we captured an incredibly high-resolution 3D scan and texture of Stevie G to give us complete control over the melt.’

James Young, head of sponsorship at Lucozade Sport, added: ‘We wanted to dramatise the effects that not staying hydrated when playing in heat can have. Although an extreme example, we think it highlights the point perfectly, and using Steven is particularly pertinent given the challenges he and the team will face in the climate of Brazil.’

During each game at the Lucozade Sport Conditions Zone, players will receive scientific analysis demonstrating the impact the conditions have on their performance, with the increase in heat and humidity causing dehydration and fuel loss.

The facility will be open from 3rd to 24th June and is free to play in.