ABOUT

Concept:
This commercial was commissioned as a key collaborative digital campaign between retail giant Zalando and Adidas. The creative brief centered on the emotional and physical friction of beginning a new athletic journey, subverting traditional sports advertisement perfection by leaning into the raw, unpolished, and awkward reality of the initial push—ultimately highlighting that the "first step" is always the defining moment.

Execution:
Produced under Ocurens, the visual style combines heavily texturized, lifestyle film framing with rapid, kinetic action sequences. I directed the visual progression to mirror the internal mental state of the talent—beginning with slow, atmospheric camera moves that abruptly break into fast-paced, rhythmically driven edits as momentum builds. The post-production locks the sound design and music transitions tightly to the footwork, ensuring the footwear product placement remains completely integrated with the story's motion.

Results:
The commercial spearheaded the joint Zalando x Adidas seasonal rollout across European digital and social channels, generating high audience engagement scores among lifestyle and running demographics. It was widely praised in the fashion marketing sphere for its authentic, relatable storytelling and punchy visual tempo.