When Gareth Bale got injured during a UEFA Champions League match in November, Real Madrid looked to its bench for his replacement. Nissan, however, took a different approach in finding somebody to replace him in its upcoming TV commercial.
Bale was set to appear in a Nissan spot alongside Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero, but was unable to do so after injuring his ankle. Rather than rework the spot and settle for Aguero going it alone, Nissan used the situation as an opportunity to give one soccer fan a once in a lifetime experience.
The Japanese manufacturer had Bale send 24-year-old Ana Rueda Hernandez a video inviting her to fill in for him on the shoot, according to a press release. Not only is Hernandez a huge Bale fan, she’s also from Madrid, so she got the added treat of meeting fellow-Spaniard Aguero.
“At the beginning I was really nervous, but after a few minutes we started speaking in Spanish and telling each other about our lives, he was great,” Hernandez said in a statement.
While the commercial isn’t expected to air until spring, we can say with some level of confidence it won’t be better than the behind-the-scenes story.
Thumbnail photo via Nissan
