Bias Alert: We nerd-heart the Premier League – England’s top-flight, globally watched professional football (soccer) league.

But even if we weren’t keen on the EPL or soccer, we’d still be telling our friends about the marketing genius Premier League club Southampton FC delivers in a two-part animated video that debuts the team’s 2017-18 kits.

Here’s the Reader Digest’s Version:

Four Southampton players race from their futuristic training facility to use their soccer-superhero powers to track down the evil villain who has stolen their team’s new uniform design. The villain is a disliked former manager, Ronald Koeman, who in real life left Southampton for a heftier payday at a bigger team (Everton).

In the end, the four Saints, as Southampton is nicknamed, defeat Koeman and his nefarious accomplices from rival soccer clubs. They then return to the Southampton facility where a geek-tastic computer hologram-thingy uploads the new uniforms on to them – thereby also introducing the jerseys, shorts and socks to fans who might like to purchase said items. There’s even a low-pressure call-to-action, “Pre-Order Now SouthamptonFC.com.”

To truly appreciate Southampton’s work, you have to watch the videos. It will only cost you about five minutes. Take the time – it’s entertaining and productive. Productive? Yep, because it could be a source of inspiration, or at least an edifying indication of how marketing is evolving – getting more creative and entertainment-driven to stand out in a media-saturated world and to compel buying action.

Watching the videos, we thought of something Brandon Brown, marketing director at Top 40 promo supplier SnugZ/USA (asi/88060), told us recently:

“Intrusive, interruptive, self-centered marketing no longer works the way it once did, and its effectiveness will only continue to diminish. What will replace the legacy model? There’s a one-word answer: Stories. Good content marketing moves the brand needle, increasing awareness, changing perception, and creating desire and drive to purchase.”

Indeed, Brandon. Indeed.