Adidas promotes its new player partnership with young MLB super star Fernando Tatis Junior via an aggressive, risk-taking, anti-establishment spot which hardly features any footage or imagery of the player at all and champions breaking the game’s traditions and rules.
Instead, the sportswear brand opts to show old school baseball traditionalists discuss why they don’t like the way Tatis plays as they rip the 21-year-old’s fun, upbeat and full of attitude style for his lack of respect for the game’s gentlemanly unwritten rules
As the ad states: “He’s changing the game for the better, whether you like it or not. Baseball is dead. Long live baseball. #ReadyForChange”
Tatis Jr is one of the most exciting and controversial new players in the league and this year the 21-year-old Dominican player shook up the sport with bat flips – which have rubbed traditional baseball fans up the wrong way.
Yet, despite his on-field success, when MLB announced its shortlist for 2020’s MVP, Tatis’ name was noticeably missing.
So Adidas decided to rally around their athlete ambassador, support his skills and showcase the excitement he has brought to the game through a new spot called ‘Baseball is dead. Viva El Beisbol’ which ran under its ‘Ready For Change’ platform and was released on the day that the league’s MVP was announced.
The winners were Chicago White Sox first baseman José Abreu and Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman.
The campaign was created for Adidas by agency Mojo Supermarket with production by Gravy Films and post production handled by Whitehouse Post.
“It’s a bold statement to make for a brand that sells baseball gear. But our partners at Adidas never flinched” said Mo Said, founder and CCO of Mojo Supermarket.
“As soon as we heard news about Tatis being left off the MVP shortlist, they wanted to act quickly. In a matter of days we produced a message, right in time for the MVP ceremony that said – Baseball is dead. And its rebirth looks a lot like a 21-year-old Dominican dude.”
Comment:
It seems that Adidas, like the MLB itself (as illustrated by its central ‘We Play Loud’ brand platform), has become part of the movement to look to a more youthful future for the sport and reposition its appeal to a younger generation.
Links:
Adidas
Mojo Supermarket
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.