Adidas Originals rolls out a new campaign centered around originality and creativity and a provocative approach to contemporary streetwear culture in order to relaunch its EQT footwear line.
The global initiative is spearheaded by a sexy and stylish 90-second ‘original Is Never Finished’ spot set to the remixed Frank Sinatra classic ‘My Way’ and featuring a blend of contemporary creators (and brand endorsers) from sport, music and art.
The spot is fronted by musicians Snoop Dogg and Stormzy, plus artist Petra Collins, while skate legend Gonz appears with French professional skater Lucas Puig in ‘Lucas & The Gonz’.
Legendary basketball icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passes the torch to one of the future in the form of young LA Lakers star Brandon Ingram in the ‘Raining Basketballs’ segment, while musician Dev Hynes offers a nod to the past in his choreographed ‘Mirrors’ sequence.
The commercial, created by New York agency Johannes Leonardo, directed by Terence Neale via RSA and boosted by social video outfit Unruly, blends art school creativity with the eccentric and dystopian future of a Mad Max style rebellion.
The video’s arresting images range from sportswear-clad teens hanging like bats from a pole to masked kids with flaming torches.
Launched on 18 January, it aims to explore the idea that driving culture forward can recreate the idea of what is truly original.
The spot showcases what it describes as ‘assorted Easter Eggs’ such as artist Petra Collins’ re-imagining of Boticelli’s famous ‘Birth of Venus’ painting, an homage to Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and Snoop Dogg’s own retake on his “Doggystyle” album cover.
First posted on the brand’s YouTube channel,
it is also being amplified across all the usual digital and social channels from Instagram
and Facebook,
to Twitter.
Using the past to inspire the future. See why #ORIGINALis never finished. pic.twitter.com/18e6vizAvQ
— adidas Originals (@adidasoriginals) January 18, 2017
‘Everything we do for adidas Originals is a work in progress, as true creativity is never finished. We have in the past challenged ‘outward’-facing concepts like what it meant to be a superstar, or the dystopian notion of the future,’ explains Adidas Originals VP of global communications Alegra O’Hare.
‘For the first time ever, we decided to point the attention in, and challenge the very ethos of our brand and the notion of what it means to be a true original.’
‘We wanted the film to reflect the rich past of all creative spheres: music, art, film and sport,’ adds Johannes Leonardo creative director Wes Phelan who notes that the past empowers the future.
‘Starting with the music, we intentionally chose a track that had been done multiple times before to prove our point — original is never finished.’
It aims to redefine EQT footwear, a celebrated 1990s line, for a new generation.
The film is the hero spot launch for a campaign that plans to run throughout 2017.
Comment:
With 8,342,053 YouTube views in its first week, plus hundreds of thousands of further consumer engagements across other platforms and touch points, this film is turning into something of a phenomenon.
With those numbers it certainly not just appealing to an art school crowd.
It certainly stands apart from so many other big-budget sports brand spots and differentiates the Adidas sub-brand from the likes of Nike and Under Armour as it aims to carve out of genre of its own.
The creative approach adds a fresh twist to Adidas Originals’ positioning as a brand for creators and follows in the footsteps of its recent ad heritage honing this message that includes last year’s ‘Your Future Is Not Mine’ – also by Johannes Leonardo.
The company is in the middle of developing its revival strategy partly around fashion partnerships with artists and creatives such as Kanye West and the approach looks to be succeeding with Adidas reporting a 20% rise in North American sales for the third quarter of 2016 (according to NPD Group).
Links:
Adidas
http://www.instagram.com/adidasoriginals
http://www.facebook.com/adidasoriginals
http://www.twitter.com/adidasoriginals
http://adidasoriginals.tumblr.com
http://www.youtube.com/adidasoriginals
Johannes Leonardo New York
http://www.johannesleonardo.com/
Unruly
