Tennis icon and women’s sporting legend Billie Jean King fronts a new multi-strand ‘Here To Create Change’ initiative from Adidas.
Timed to leverage spiking tennis interest around the US Open, the 39 time Grand Slam champion’s launch strand of this integrated initiative revolves around a project to transform any pair of sports shoes – not just Adidas, but also Nike, Reebok, or Puma kicks – into a pair of King’s famous blue three-striped trainers as worn during her famous ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match against Bobby Riggs in Houston 45 years ago.
On site at the Adidas pop-up store in Flushing Meadows, fans can simply walk in and give their very own shoes a makeover for free at the hands of artists using stencils and spray paint to transform any pair of trainers/sneakers into BJK’s signature blue kicks.
The initiative, developed in harness with agency TBWA/Chiat/Day NY, is just one strand of Adidas’ broader ‘Here to Create Change’ which aims to encourage more female athletes in New York and around the world.
All hail the King. @BillieJeanKing leveled the playing field for women in tennis but teen girls still drop out of sport at 2.4x the rate of boys. We’re here to create change for all sport. Spread the word. #CreatorsUnite pic.twitter.com/oWEDH2Rm2R
— adidas tennis (@adidastennis) August 27, 2018
There are, of course, BJK-revamped Stan Smiths, Barricades and NMDs available for purchase at $100, $120 and $140 respectively, while those seeking the ‘real thing’ can buy one of the 300 limited edition Billie Jean King Speedfactory suede AM4BJK sneakers (a clone of the famous shoes she wore at the Astrodome) for $200.
Billie Jean King, who is appearing at the store during the tournament,
I hope you love your @adidas AM4BJK shoes as much as I love mine, @kelly_clarkson. Such an incredible first day @usopen. #CreatorsUnite #createdwithadidas pic.twitter.com/5Lb9aoJKeU
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) August 28, 2018
also stars in a teaser for the initiative on social media,
Billie Jean King your shoes at the @usopen. #CreatorsUnite pic.twitter.com/RhTEywrxeD
— adidas tennis (@adidastennis) August 26, 2018
and promotes the activation across her own personal channels.
This tennis themed phase is part of Adidas’ wider Women’s Equality Day initiative which is spearheaded by a film shot by Doug Liman that highlights the lack of representation or female athletes in the media.
The multi-sport video showcases powerful women across an array of sporting arenas and fields – from courts to pools and boxing rings to pitches – and highlights how women only make up around 4% of the athletes shown on mass media.
As well as the pop-up store, the onsite craft experience, the BKJ backing, the limited edition shoes and the spearhead spot, the initiative is further supported by a series of video ads, print executions and digital and social content running with the hashtag #CreatorsUnite.
The creative and messaging all aims to implore and inspire other female athletes in eradicating the barriers young women face.
The project revolves around a bespoke microsite at https://www.adidas.com/us/heretocreatechange
with plenty of social media support
All hail the King. @BillieJeanKing leveled the playing field for women in tennis but teen girls still drop out of sport at 2.4x the rate of boys. We’re here to create change for all sport. Spread the word. #CreatorsUnite pic.twitter.com/oWEDH2Rm2R
— adidas tennis (@adidastennis) August 27, 2018
@BillieJeanKing paved the way for women in tennis. Who will we pave the way for? #CreatorsUnite pic.twitter.com/33P0QiP8wj
— adidas tennis (@adidastennis) August 28, 2018
and will include a series of events and projects designed to put the community first and see the sports brand back the Big Apple and the city’s female athletes.
The main goal of the initiative is to address the problem of the large proportion of girls in New York who give up sports once they leave school.
The brand and the tennis veteran are committed to finding solutions to infrastructure and coaching constraints that play a key role in this phenomenon.
The central film and the Billie jean King strand all aim to help keep teen girls in sport after they leave school.
The initiative was partly based on Adidas research that found that in NYC girls are more than twice as likely to drop out of sport than boys their age.
Adidas and a slew of its endorsers are committed to break down the barriers that see almost 1.7 million potential female athletes quit playing in the city.
The brand’s own research shows that during middle school there is only a 5% gap between the percentage of male and female athletes, but that this increases to 13% in high school – with the biggest drop off between the ages of 17 and 18.
Plus a whopping 28% of all girls – the equivalent to over 670,000 potential NYC athletes – say they drop out of sport because there are fewer opportunities to partake as they get older.
The overall objective is to encourage young women to keep playing sport and keep their passion for sport too.
Comment:
This is an ambitious initiative to be sure, but there are now more powerful icons for positive change through sport than Billie Jean King and we can think of no worthier or more admirable sports ambassador to support.
This gender equality initiative neatly dovetails the cause and objectives with the brand’s global umbrella ‘Create’ brand platform – as illustrated through its recent Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup work (see case study).
Links:
Adidas
https://www.facebook.com/adidas
https://www.youtube.com/user/adidas
https://www.instagram.com/adidas/
https://www.adidas.co.uk/women
https://twitter.com/adidaswomen
TBWA/Chiat/Day N.Y
http://www.tbwachiatdayny.com/
