The best Bukayo Saka documentary is also a WhatsApp ad

FastCompany: Bukayo Saka is having an epic year. In just this past month, the English soccer star led Arsenal to its first Premier League title in more than 20 years, then played in a Champions League final (where the team lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties). Next, he’ll lead England into the 2026 World Cup. Now, a new documentary film directed by Emmy-award winner Robert Alexander shines another spotlight on the 24-year-old.

Bukayo Saka: The Time is Now brings Saka together with another Arsenal great, club legend Thierry Henry, for a candid conversation about what it takes to perform at the highest level, the pressure, the resilience required, and making sure to still get joy from the game. We also get a look inside a pivotal moment in Saka’s career, when a WhatsApp message from Henry helped shift his perspective following his missed penalty shot against Italy in the Euro 2020 final.

Throughout the film, Henry acts as the Yoda to Saka’s young Jedi, breaking down his motivations, asking him tough questions, and providing the kind of perspective only someone who has already lived that life could. The new doc will be streaming on Disney+ in select international markets from June 5, and in the U.S. later this month, along with the ESPN App. The film will also air on Fox in the U.S. on June 7 at 1:30pm ET, and will be available on Fox One. [Image: WhatsApp] It’s also— and stop me if you’ve heard this one before —a WhatsApp commercial.

The film is produced by the Meta-owned messaging app, and is just the brand’s latest masterclass in creating brand entertainment that is actually just entertainment. The story is real, the characters compelling, and the product just happens to sit naturally within it all. Here, the story catalyst is the fact that Henry and Saka first connected over WhatsApp. In 2023, for the award-winning film We Are Ayenda , it was the Afghan women’s soccer team’s use of WhatsApp to coordinate their escape from the Taliban.

And last year’s The Seat , it was the Mercedes F1 team’s use of WhatsApp to discuss how they would replace legendary driver Lewis Hamilton. In each instance, all created with brand entertainment agency Modern Arts , WhatsApp played a real role and fit seamlessly into each film. [Bukayo Saka with former Arsenal player Thierry Henry. Image: WhatsApp] Real stories, real impact WhatsApp’s global head of brand Jennie Morel says that the goal for The Time is Now is to use the occasion of the World Cup to grow its user base in the U.S. by showing how a superstar like Saka actually uses the app in his real life.

“Soccer is having such a big moment right now, we wanted to tell a story that really resonated with this fandom because we know that WhatsApp’s going to be so integral to their experience as they’re watching games and connecting with their fellow fans and group chats,” says Morel. “So it was really important for us to find a story that would be relevant to this time.” When WhatsApp created The Seat , about Mercedes F1 replacing Hamilton with youngster Kimi Antonelli, many fans had no idea who Antonelli was.

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The article discusses a unique brand integration strategy through a documentary, which is significant for the brand industry, particularly in the context of sports and digital marketing, making it relevant and moderately novel.