Following hot-on-the-heel of the announcement that Adidas has become the new official kit sponsorship for Team India, the sportswear giant promoted the deal through an integrated campaign showcasing just how many times India’s cricketers have achieved the impossible.
Conceptualised by agency Fundamental, the campaign is spearheaded by a film featuring flashbacks to many of Indian cricket’s ‘impossible moments’. These include the idea that most people believed the country’s 1983 Men’s ODI World Cup win was impossible, plus how first-time captain MS Dhoni’s 2007 Men’s T20 World Cup victory was initially through to be impossible, to Sachin Tendulkar’s century of hundreds initially seeming impossible and how regularly selling out women’s national team matches was something else that was once seen as impossible.
The ‘adidas x Indian Cricket Team’ spot rolled out across sponsor and rights owner platforms from 23 May and led a campaign amplifying Adidas new deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which saw it become the official apparel partner of India’s national cricket teams across all formats of the game – including the men’s, women’s and youth sides.
Adidas will replace previous incumbent brand Killer from 31 May and the new three-stripe kit will be worn for the first time during the World Test Championship Finals held between 7 and 11 June at The Oval in Surrey.
Adidas has partnered with the BCCI as a match kit and merchandise partner in a deal that will run through to March 2028.
“We are committed to helping grow the game of cricket and could not be more excited to partner with one of the world’s leading sportswear brands, adidas, in this journey,” commented BCCI Honorary Secretray Jay Shah. “With its rich historical legacy in sports, world-class products, and strong global reach, adidas will play an important role in driving the performance and future success of different categories of Indian cricket.”
Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden commented: “We are proud to partner with BCCI and Team India, the most iconic team in India. Cricket is the most important sport in India, and it is very important for us to be visible and invest in it. We could not have found a better partner than BCCI. I believe India to be the fastest growing sports market for the next decades. We are very committed to supporting our team to become the best sports brand in India.”
Neelendra Singh, GM of Adidas India, added: “We are beyond excited for this historic moment at adidas, not just in India but also globally. We are proud to see the three stripes on the Indian cricket team. This is our moment to present Cricket to the world with high quality performance products for our athletes. We look forward to creating moments with our consumers through the most celebrated sport in India. adidas truly believes in the potential of cricket in India and through this partnership with BCCI we will accelerate growth.
Comment
Cricket, of course, remains by far the most popular sport in the recently crowned world’s most populous country. And the sport is undergoing a revolution all over the world: with new professional leagues, new nations striving to join the top tier and sell-out crowds for fresh formats.
The adidas partnership will see the Herzogenaurach headquartered brand work with the BCCI to drive the sport and the national teams forward on and off the pitch through design, match kit, leisure apparel collections, equipment, experiences and marketing.
The deal is also part of the German sportswear giant’s fightback strategy after its travails around its axed Kanye West partnership. Based in the Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach, the German company employs more than 61,000 people across the globe and generated sales of €21.2 billion in 2021.
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