Adidas Football is the latest brand to feature a performance by a spoken word poet in its marketing in a new campaign introducing its new season away jersey for Manchester United.

The ad is narrated by performance poet John Cooper Clarke. He pays homage to the team's players who fear "not concrete nor cold nor Manchester rain" in their support of their club, and have their "eyes wide shut" to any obstacle standing in the way of their quest for glory. The Salford-born poet's words also celebrate Manchester itself, "this town where devils are angels who glide the Trafford turf."

The voiceover accompanies a collage-style animation depicting various players, including Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and Katie Zelem. The film combines childhood snaps with images of the players today wearing the new jersey, which is based on an iconic 1992 design with a "snowflake" motif. 

Running on Instagram, the film was created by Homeground, a new agency opened this month by Rachid Ahouiyek, Henry Scotland and Nico Tuppen, former executive creatives directors and managing director respectively at Iris in London. The start-up promises a more creative-led approach to sports marketing. The spot was produced by Stink and animators Golden Wolf.