Airwallex and Arsenal produce an unlikely ad with Spike Lee
Uncommon has partnered with Airwallex to launch ‘Who Are Ya?’, a two-minute short film directed by Spike Lee that marks the fintech’s appointment as Arsenal’s official financial software partner.
Lee made his directorial debut with the comedy ‘She's Gotta Have It’ (1986) and received acclaim for the kaleidoscopic drama ‘Do the Right Thing’ (1989), which feels and looks oddly contemporary even today.
He went on to produce some stylistically distinct commercials, most notably for Nike (Air Jordan) in the 1990s and more recently a 2026 Oakley Super Bowl ad, and appearances for Capital One and MasterClass.
His latest with Uncommon is a bit of a curveball. Set in (checks notes) a bustling North London pub on match day, the film follows passionate Arsenal supporters, legends and current players as they debate the intricacies of B2B finance and global payments with the same intensity they reserve for the beautiful game.
Thierry Henry, Martin Keown, Rachel Yankey, Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyökeres and screen stars such as Aaron Pierre and Jasmine Jobson add in a free barbs about transfers, mixed in with chat about cross-border transactions and financial ambition.
Spike Lee himself appears, with his quips working to reveal how football fans already grasp the complexities of international money movement through their love of the sport.
Our take
The campaign is attempting to reframe dry corporate finance as a natural extension of fan culture at one of England’s most storied clubs.
There is indeed some synergy there. Supporter banter regularly tracks player valuations and sponsorship deals, and there’s some mileage in watching an American director capture the nuances of the very English vernacular.
The repartee sometimes lands, sometimes feels conceptually confusing, and your enjoyment will rest a lot on whether you get the (admittedly lovingly curated) club references.
Compared to Nike’s 2018 ‘Dream Crazy’ with Colin Kaepernick, this is a big step away. Gone is the social and cultural insight and in its place is a sometimes awkward attempt to fit a sponsorship announcement into a pub-table conversation.
Lee teases out some good performances and nuanced fan service, however, so we reckon Arsenal fans will be on board. Which is the real goal.
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