Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Jose say what? A Full Translation of Jose + 10

See the full ad here!


Consumer alert! I have posted a definitive edition of the ad's translation today, July 9, in honor of the World Cup Final, and working in all the suggested revisions. To read the most polished and comprehensive version, go to the new post.

Gracias!

*************

I've noticed that la Jardiniere has had several visitors interested in the Adidas Jose + 10 ads (which I admired in my June 14 post, "My favorite part of the World Cup so far. . ." ). Many have been looking for translations; I only translated a couple of choice lines then, so allow me to put my Spanish to further use. I don't know that it will get much airing in Kingston, Ontario; I'm just getting used to using the French pronunciation of my last name -- dooh-shjahr-deh[n] -- instead of the Americanized doo-jar-din. Not that I haven't enjoyed saying it, in French, without having had to spell it thereafter.

As for Jose and his amigo Chubby -- Gordito? -- the Jose + 10 ad goes like this. You can see the two ads that are out together in an extended version here:



As the ad opens, Gordito is bored, chilling out in an old arm chair (next to an abandoned car) outside, as Jose bounces a soccer ball off the wall nearby.

Gordito: Jose? Jugamos?/ Jose? Shall we play?

Jose: Si/ Yes.

The scene cuts to the courtyard where Jose and Gordito do their version of "rock, paper, scissors" to see who gets first pick of the players.

Gordito: Pares -- uno, dos y tres!/ Stop -- one, two, three! (They each throw a hand in, Jose loses.)

Jose: Ach!/ Ach! (the international language of frustration). Gordito gets first pick; the players arrive, running in from various angles of the courtyard, some in their native team gear, some more casual.

G: Cisse!/ Djubril Cisse, of France, who is injured for the Cup (broken leg).

J: Kaka!/ Kaka, of Brazil (remember, lots of them go by one name).

G: Zidane!/ Zinedine Zizane (Zizou), of France.

J: Beckham!/ David Beckham, of England.

G: Defoe!/ Jermaine Defoe, who plays for Tottenham, but is not playing for England in the Cup.

J: Kahn! Oliver Kahn, German goal-keeper, who won the "Golden Ball" (ringing Austin Powers?) at the 2002 World Cup.

G: Messi!/ Lionel Messi, of Argentina.

J: Mm, Beckenbauer!

G: . . . [realizing what Jose had just said] Beckenbauer!? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha/ The joke that they're sharing is that Jose has selected the player Franz Beckenbauer -- which sounds like "bake-un-bow-yea" in their idiom -- who was a German star (and former national team manager) from the late sixties and seventies (and an Adidas icon to boot).

Just when they're laughing, however, Beckenbauer turns up, in the era-appropriate kit (and his old number, 5). Oliver Kahn, the current -- and great -- German goalie (in the middle of the photo to the right), is especially dumb-struck, and Beckenbauer approaches him first to shake his hand. Neat moment.

But having cottoned on to the kids' m.o., Zidane whispers in Gordito's ear the name of a French football icon from the late seventies and eighties, Michel Platini -- G: Platini! -- who duly arrives to hug his no. 10 heir, Zidane (i.e., Germans don't hug. . .).

The players are stretching, smiling, and getting to know each other while they warm up, but Jose and Gordito are all business.

G: Oye, Defoe!/ Listen up, Defoe! Gordito throws Defoe the goalie gear, surprising -- and amusing -- because Defoe is a forward; but we've established that these are the kids' teams, as Jose then makes explicit.

J: [the coin toss; Cisse stoops to pick it up; Jose swipes it from his hands] Soy capitan!/ I'm the captain!

G: [calling out to his players behind him] Oye, cuatro cuatro dos!/ Four four two! The standard soccer line up of four defenders, four midfielders, then two forwards, or strikers.

J: [to his team, very seriously] Cuidado Cisse, porque el corre muy rapido . . .vale? vale. / Watch out for Cisse, because he runs very fast . . . All right? All right. (Cisse nods and wags his finger in agreement).

G: [pointing to two players in his backfield] Lampard, Robben, venga, ramos!/ Lampard, Robben, come on, to the wings! (or sides, of the pitch, with a gesture that tells them to switch -- which they do). And that's Frank Lampard of England, and Arjen Robben, of the Netherlands.

The match begins when Jose shoves German player Michael Ballack to the side and says, pita!/ the whistle (has blown), and takes the first touch. I'm not going to call every touch of the match itself (unless pressed).

G:Vengamos! Venga, corre!/ Let's go! Come on, run!

Jose tackles -- okay, trips -- the rapidly advancing Robben, who considers it a foul. Jose shrugs off his protest with a clipped "sorry!" to continue play. . .

J: Aqui, Beckham!/ Here, Beckham! (who produces his trademark bending cross).

Kaka ends up with the ball, advances, shoots, and Defoe -- remember, a forward -- manages to deflect it, with a laugh. Jose, disappointed in Kaka, orders, Tu, al banquillo!/ You, to the bench! -- in which the joke is who benches Kaka?!-- but then he shouts, Duff, ven! / Duff, come! Damien Duff, of Ireland, comes in off the bench. Play continues.

G: Oye, Zidane!/ Hey, Zidane! (whom he passes the ball). Zidane to Cisse. As Cisse heads up the wing, Capitan Gordito yells something I can't make out (he's running, and huffing and puffing); whatever it is, he wants him to cross the ball in . . .

Lampard collects the cross and shoots; the goalie, Kahn, grabs it. G: Gol! Kahn: "Nooooo!" Lampard, and Gordito's team, consider it a goal. Jose and Kahn argue (in their respective languages) over the goal line when . . .

Jose's mother calls from the balcony: Jose!

J: Que?!/ What?

Jose's mom: A casa!!/ Come home! He shakes his head and throws up his arm in disappointment, and heads for home, as the camera pulls back to reveal noone on the "pitch," save for Jose and Gordito, reluctantly exiting their fantasy. . .

In my last post on the ad, I had expressed my desire to see who would win Jose's match (and how). Having watched it several times now, I think I was wrong to assume the match would continue over the course of the tournament -- I think it's over when Mama calls Jose home (which is apt). I would like to see it resume and reinvented, though, in some equally ingenious way.

In translating the ad to the letter (so to speak), I am also violating the spirit of the ad, which rightly supposes that kids all over the globe -- and fully-fledged grown-ups -- play "fantasy football," so that you don't need to know what Jose and his friend are saying to "get" the ad. After all, the body language -- e.g., Gordito's pre-match neck and shoulder roll -- speaks volumes. But knowing what they are saying, and appreciating the sly wit rendered by the kids' particular choices, adds an additional level of fun, no doubt.

It is also fun reading the international comments posted about the ad on YouTube: spettacolo, or spectacular, in Italian; simplesmente fantastico, simply fantastic, in Portuguese; Que grande anuncio y grande cancion! What a great ad, and a great song, in Spanish; and (we'll let the Germans have the last word here), Ich find sie ganz cool, I find this pretty cool.

As in any great ad, the music is sound (muy grande!) as well. In the first half, the tune is D'aloutte, by RJD2, which you can get on iTunes. In the second half -- that skimming "If you don't give my football back, I'm gonna get my Dad on you. . ." -- is by Jim Noir, the tune Eanie Meany. As far as I know, Jim Noir's album is supposed to be released on July 10. Sweet ride, that one, when you hear it in toto: http://www.jimnoir.com/.

As for Adidas, its close ties to the World Cup, and how the + 10 ads began (with all pros), there is an article on the English-language site of the German periodical Der Spiegel: http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,420456,00.html.

Finally (talk about huffing and puffing), if you pick through the FIFA World cup site, you can also find World Cup players' "+ 10," or fantasy teams. Michael Ballack's, for example, is here: http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060619/1/7wka.html.

One stop shopping, for all your World Cup promo needs!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the translation. I've been looking everywhere for something like this. Did you know that the Lampard "goal" recreates the controversial goal that gave England the Cup in 1966 against Germany (hence Kahn in the goal)?

Gwynn Dujardin said...

Hi Brian. De nada.

I hadn't thought of the connection to '66 --

I thought the '66 goal was controversial because the German players thought play was over, and weren't defending?

Enlighten me, by all means!

Enjoy the match today?!

Gwynn

Anonymous said...

Here's the recap from the FIFA site (http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/pwc/1966.html):


England, shrewdly managed by Alf (later Sir Alf) Ramsey, beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time in a thrilling final at Wembley, when Geoff Hurst made history with a hat-trick, including the most controversial goal ever scored. Did the ball really cross the line after bouncing down from the crossbar? The debate still rages.

Did You Know?

Probably no event in the history of the World Cup has caused so much discussion, between fans as well as on an official level, as the so-called "Wembley goal" that set England on the way to victory when Geoff Hurst made it 3:2 in the final against Germany.

Hardly a year goes by without some new technology being used to prove once and for all that the ball was (or maybe was not) really behind the line. The Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst, who made his decision after consulting his Russian linesman, is still remembered by football fans all over the world, fondly by England fans, less so by their German counterparts...

Gwynn Dujardin said...

Thanks, Brian! I realized we were talking about two different controversial goals. You're absolutely right about the cross-bar controversy; but the last goal England scored, the German players were already walking off the pitch, thought it was over. . .

Gotta love Sir Alf.

I'm especially chuffed right now because I figured out how to get the YouTube video on the blog. . .

I'm getting the hang of this blogging thing.

TheTrayTiger said...

Hey, great job with the translation, particularly how you went through all of the players. One thing though... at the beginning of the match when José pushes Michael Ballack aside, I don't think he says pita! but rather quita! (meaning get back!, referring to the 10 yard rule at the start). Anyway, it's a great commercial, for sure.

Gwynn Dujardin said...

Hey Tray,

You know I have had _hundreds_ of people visiting this post, and have been amazed that noone has yet called me out. I was unsure about that one, and also the order that Gordito gives to Lampard and Robben -- I know what he's saying from the gesture, but am I right about "ramos"?

Please weigh in, my many international visitors! I can't believe I'm the only one to have done this (and am glad to have provided the service).

And realize I have posted the "making of" the ad on the home page of the site (click on Jardiniere above).

Thanks again!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

awesome job. thank you so much :D

i just figured out that you did leave out the conversation after the "wembley"-goal. kahn just says "no, no!" and then he goes on:

"hey,der war auf der linie, der ball!"
which means as much as
"hey, the ball didn't cross the line!"

cheers from germany, WC winner 2006 ... ;)

Gwynn Dujardin said...

Hey Jan,

You know, it's pretty rare that I get called out for not being thorough enough -- I am usually too exhaustive! (you should see my dissertation chapters! i.e., pack a lunch).

Danke schon!!

And while we support the three lions in this household, I have to agree with your (patriotic) prediction. I would be very surprised if it weren't a Germany-Brazil rematch in the final, with the home team prevailing . . . Stay tuned!

Anonymous said...

Isn't Jose's friend called Pedro?

Gwynn Dujardin said...

I have seen him referred to as Pedro on the net -- but is the name actually spoken in the ad? In a version I haven't seen, maybe? Until I hear it with my own ears, he remains Gordito here. . .

I'm being cheeky, but (caution: academese approaching) I guess I liked how his anonymity was offset by his distinct personality, rendered by his imperious commands and his hilarious body language: I actually feel I know him better by the end of the ad than I do Jose. (and you know the old Shakespeare line: What's in a name? That which we call a rose would by any other name smell as sweet . . .)

I myself wondered what his name was on my first post on the ad (earlier in June) -- and wanted to learn it at that point! But my curiosity stemmed as much from how much I liked him as from the fact that they focused the ad on Jose (+10) -- that is, I wondered why it wasn't Jose and Pedro/Gordito + 10 (or 20). . . It mucks with the +10 Adidas theme, but they've been so clever in other areas, I know they could've gotten around that -- instead they went this way. . .

Thanks for posting your comment -- tell me what you know!

Also, sorry Tray, I'm still hearing "pita," not "quita." Should get the headphones out, I suppose.

Anonymous said...

Awesome job translating. You caught a lot of stuff that was unintelligible to me. (It also doesn't help that I don't know the players' names, so I was trying to parse and translate them when they were used in speech.... doesn't work.)

One note: I think the game that they play is called shooting fingers or odds/evens in English and the "pares" means "evens." Id est on three, they both hold out either 1 or 2 fingers. If the sum is even, whomever called evens/pares wins (2 in 3 chance).

Nice job, though.

Gwynn Dujardin said...

Hi Jordan, thanks for posting. Of course it's evens/odds . . . D'oh! (Thank you, Homer, for giving us yet another international language of frustration.)

By god we'll get it right by the final!! (Hoping for France v Italy. . . still too stunned by England's loss to comment . . . Ach!)

As we head into the semis, I feel I should note how gratifying it's been to have had so many visitors here from all over the world. . . This post is getting more than 200 views a day, and precious few countries remain unaccounted for. We could be cynical here about the global reach of advertising, but it's been fun feeling as if I'm participating in some way in the World Cup, what with all the passing and volleying here.

Remember I posted the "making of" the ad on the home page of the site (click on Jardiniere), and continue to post on the Cup, too. . .

Venga!

Anonymous said...

Actually, I think that Pedro, when he is huffing and puffing, says "A Lampard" or "To Lampard" because that's who shoots and scores. At least that's what I'm hearing anyways. Good job on the rest of the ad; in the part where you say Jose says "Cuidado" I'm hearing "El cuidad con (something something)" but at least the meaning is still there =]

Gwynn Dujardin said...

Yep, you're right -- he does say "A Lampard. . ." though he's in our bad books these days for his lousy play at the Cup. . . I suppose at this point I should repost the whole thing, what with all the help I've gotten (and remain grateful for!). Happy 4th to those in the States, and welcome everyone else. A special shout-out to visitors from Singapore and Canada, who have been well represented here. . .

Anonymous said...

"Remember I posted the "making of" the ad on the home page of the site (click on Jardiniere)..."

Maybe one of your many site visitors can provide a translation of Kaka on the "making of" video?

Thanks for the translation of the commercial! Made it so much more enjoyable to get some context.

MADjaHEAD said...

Thanx for full adv

Anonymous said...

Thanks SO MUCH! This is amazing.
I LOVE this commercial :D

Sinfully Pinstripe said...

Hey, great thing! Muchas Gracias.

Have copy-pasted a bit of it on my blog. Hope that's ok.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, darling! I am so happy to see your comments and translation on a commercial which I simply adore for all the reasons shared on the Internet! How so generous of you!
A female fan.

Gwynn Dujardin said...

You're welcome, darling . . . (gotta love the love!) Be sure to check out the final draft on the home page, with all sorts of new info and features. . .