Federer’s trick shot a fake? You decide, says Gillette
Roger Federer performs an amazing trick shot in a new YouTube video. Based on Gillette’s response, the shot must be a fake. (See update, below)

Cathal Kelly Staff Reporter

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We want to believe this happened.

Not because we like Roger Federer. We don’t. Ever since he exposed himself as a myopic Narcissist after the 2009 Wimbledon final, we’ve wandered over to the ABF (Anybody but Federer) camp.

But it is comforting to believe that the world’s most famous athletes are slightly superhuman.

Otherwise, they’re just you if you kept that promise to go to the gym six hours a day. And that would mean you’ve wasted every weekend since you were six years old, watching a bunch of schlubs who are just you with better DNA and willpower.

So we need to believe that Roger Federer really did this.

Gillette has just ‘leaked’ behind-the-scenes footage of Federer in between takes while shooting a TV ad.

At the cinema verité outset, Federer and some actual schlub are jawing about tennis. This part looks real because Federer is compulsively tugging at his belt in a gesture that says, ‘It’s talking to me. Why won’t it stop talking to me.’

Then Federer touches the guy on the shoulder (fake) and seems genuinely interested in what he has to say (super fake). He also suddenly starts enunciating like Jim Junkin trapped in a well.

Without any appreciable preamble (fake), Federer places a red bottle on the head of the nervous looking (real) schlub. He backs up twenty paces or so and warns the cameraman to get out of the way.

“Don’t be nervous,” Federer says, sounding genuine (fake).

He hammers a half-serve which appears to knock the bottle off the guy’s head. It happens very fast and isn’t terribly clear.

So Federer does it again.

This time the camera backs up and it’s clear. Federer hits another bull’s-eye and the bottle goes flying.

But is it real?

Arguing for real – It isn’t an enormous distance and this is Roger Federer. I mean, if he can plant those running back-hands up the line, this must be relatively simple by comparison.

The schlub’s reactions seem real – which is to say, he’s completely frozen.

And if the whole thing went terribly wrong, the worst thing that was going to happen is a black eye.

Arguing for fake – CGI is getting cheaper and easier all the time. In my wedding video, I grafted my head on to Godzilla’s body. My grandparents sent me a sympathy card about my terrible psoriasis.

Everything seems far too well-planned, including the fawning looks from the crew at Federer.

So far, Gillette hasn’t said. (We’ve asked. No response.)

But let’s hope.

UPDATE: So Gillette spokesperson Pamela Baillie sent us this answer to our ‘real or fake?’ question yesterday.

“The UK / Ireland team who worked with Roger on this shoot have decided to leave the question of real or fake up to the viewers.”

Ran that through the PR-ese to English translator: “Definitely fake.”

OBFUSCATING UPDATE 2: The UK/Ireland office of Gillette weighs in.

From Brand Communications Manager James Nunn: “I am … going to leave the “real or fake” debate up to the viewers, but can tell you the video was shot in one unbroken take.”

So, officially fake.