Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesDavid Beckham isn't having much of a retirement, but who's complaining?
On the hot heels of the release of a brand-new Adidas commercial starring the British football star, Beckham and Prince William today announced a joint venture, the #WhoseSideAreYouOn campaign for the Duke of Cambridge's United for Wildlife foundation.
Beckham heads up a team of global ambassadors including Prince Harry, tennis star Andy Murray, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, cricket legend Rahul Dravid, retired NBA star Yao Ming and retired rugby champ Francois Pienaar to raise awareness of and help combat crimes against wildlife—one of Will's longtime pet causes.
The two sides in question, as per the campaign's slogan, are those who would do nothing to stop illegal poaching and those who are for species preservation.
Pretty much, you're either with Prince William or against him on this one. He and Beckham appeared Monday at Google Town Hall in London to announce their new effort.
"Around the world, the illegal wildlife trade is responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of animals a year, pushing some of our most beloved species to the brink of extinction," William, who has visited Africa on behalf of the cause," addressed reporters. "Our children should not live in a world without elephants, tigers, lions and rhinos. Enough is enough. It is time to choose between critically endangered species and the criminals who kill them for money."
And bringing Beckham on board to help harness the power of international sports and social media was a deft maneuver.
The global soccer icon also costars in a brand-new Adidas commercial called "House Match," featuring fellow football greats Zinedine Zidane, Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura and directed by Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles with an eye on getting the world even more revved up for the World Cup, whick kicks off Thursday.
"Soccer stars are so used to being filmed that they've almost become actors," Meirelles said. "I was amazed to see how collaborative they were. Now that Beckham is retired from playing soccer, he could easily move his career straight to acting if he wanted and I mean that. That day's shoot was pure fun."
Getting Becks into the movies? Now there's a goal we can get behind.