Adidas has kicked off a year-long campaign to promote its Originals line in a big way, with a star-studded spot that aims to challenge the very notion of what it means to be a superstar. The renewed marketing push (one of the largest ever for the brand), is built around the 45th anniversary of the Superstar trainers, which were first launched as basketball sneakers in 1969 before being made famous by RUN-D.M.C. and hip-hop culture in general in the 1980's.
Photo Credit: Amanda Jas
The renewed marketing push, which is one of the largest ever for the brand, is built around the 45th anniversary of the Superstar trainers
The idea behind the campaign, which features a host of big names including Pharrell Williams, Rita Ora and David Beckham, is to relaunch the iconic shoes and draw attention to the history of the brand. According to Alexander Matt, senior director of global brand communications for the Originals brand, said the “Iconic footwear style” marks the beginning of Adidas, and believes that the new campaign gives them the opportunity to focus on that lineage. It would seem like they are putting their eggs in the right basket, as the Originals line experienced a double-digit sales increase recently, with overall retail sales up 11%.
Adidas Original – Original Superstar
The highly stylised 90-second ad, which was directed by Karim Huu Do from Caviar, and can be viewed above, features the assorted stars challenging the definition of “Superstardom.” It was created by the New York-based creative agency Johannes Leonardo, whose co-founder, Leo Premutico, was thrilled by Huu Do's “Brave” choice to shoot the ad in black-and-white, which he felt lent the spot a timeless feel, matching the timeless product. He also said of the campaign; “We wanted to be authentic to the notion of superstar and to do that we had to subvert the perception of it.” He added that “It's easy these days to equate superstardom with fame and the amount of view counts, but the most important creative quality is courage.”
The iconic Adidas stripes were also used in the ad, scratching out the word “Superstar” in bold blue
The iconic Adidas stripes were also used in the ad, effectively scratching out the word “Superstar” in bold blue. This is a theme that will be carried over into the rest of the campaign (which will include print, social, digital and outdoor), with additional creative set to roll out globally over the next year. Johannes Leonardo co-founder Jan Jacobs, said she feels the striking reappropriation of the logo “Makes a really provocative statement in one symbol about how Adidas feels about the notion of the superstar.”
