Adidas expanded its ‘Ready for Sport’ campaign through June with a restart series of team- and athlete-specific films leveraging the sportswear brand’s partnerships as various leagues picked up again after their pandemic hiatus.
The new restart phase of the global campaign capitalised on sporting kick-offs around the world through a series of partner property-specific online films, including spots focusing on individual athlete endorsers such as Lionel Messi and Xander Schauffele, as well as clubs including Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Madrid, plus national teams like the All Blacks and sports such as football’
The phase began on 12 June as La Liga returned to the pitch and Adidas Football released a film called ‘Ready For Sport – The Gift’ focusing on superstar soccer ambassador Lionel Messi. Timed to coincide with the forward’s Barcelona side’s return to live action, the video explains that during lockdown Messi came to think of playing as an honour and includes the quite: “The greatest gift of all is to create joy for others”.
This was followed a day later when, on 13 June, the brand rolled out of a further film focusing on arguably Adidas’ preeminent partner club Real Madrid. The creative blends player vox pops, with self-shot training from home phone footage and imagery from the city’s strict lockdown to celebrate the spirit of the city and the club.
Also on 13 June a further film leveraged the return of rugby in New Zealand – this time with stadiums full of celebrating not just the restart of country’s favourite sport, but also a sense of freedom as the country declared itself ‘free’ of the COVID-19 pandemic – through a spot called ‘Ready For Sport – Regeneration’.
Narrated by new All Blacks skipper Sam Cane, the film looks to a new World Cup cycle and talks about the value of the All Blacks shirt and how the team is ready for the return of rugby. As the ad says: “As we’ve found out, things change very quickly. So when they turn in our favor, we’ll make sure that we’re ready. As another World Cup cycle begins, new All Blacks captain Sam Cane shares his thoughts on lockdown, the team’s famous regeneration and the pressures and privileges of keeping the squad on top.”
Then, ahead of the return of the Premier League in England, Adidas launched a generic ‘Ready For Sport – Football’ spot on 15 June featuring a set of flagship teams and players from its EPL sponsorship stable (including Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, as well as Paul Pogba, Mohamed Salah and Jamie Vardy) as they return the action again after the COVID-19 shutdown.
Then, on 16 June, 24 hours ahead of the premier League restart and Arsenal’s match against Manchester City, Adidas Football leveraged its supplier partnership with the north London club with a Gunners-specific spot. Fronted by club legend Ian Wright and featuring an array of players, coaches and fans, the new video focuses on what the club and the game means to Wright, how it feels when it was taken away and how ready he is for the return to the pitch and the return of sport.
Beyond the football space, another spot in the series, saw the German based sports apparel giant also leveraged the return of golf with the restart of the PGA Tour through a 16 June ‘Return To Sport – Xander Schauffele’ film
Leveraging the return of the PGA Tour as golfers around the world return to the tee, Adidas continues to umbrella ‘Ready For Sport’ initiative with a spot focused on athlete ambassador and Californian golf star Xander Schauffele. The narrative explains how, when the greens were closed, Schauffele remained hungry and stayed ready and that now, with professional golf returning, it’s time to put preparation into practice.
Then, on 18 June, Adidas Football released a Manchester-United specific spot (narrated by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær and themed around the idea that no one does comebacks quite like Utd) to leverage its 19 June game against Tottenham Hotspur – the first match back since the pandemic for both clubs.
Also on 18 June a film featuring American two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup alpine skier Mikaela Pauline Shiffrin, called ‘The Return’ and themed around the thrill of speed, the deep meaning the sport has for her and her feelings about returning to racing: “I think the next time I get in the start gate, in a lot of ways, it will feel like the first time ever… but I hope that racing still feels as special as it always has”.
Further films are slated to roll out as further restarts occur and teams and players take to pitch once again.
Comment:
The latest wave of June work follows on from the original, base ‘Return To Sport’ hero film which launched back at the end of April. This core, set-up commercial, created by agency Iris and launched on 28 April, looked forward to the eventual sporting restart whilst most of the world was still firmly locked down.
It was launched at a time when fan newsfeeds and social channels were full of brands delivering vanilla marketing messages based around the of indomitable spirit over adversity and, more pertinently, other sports brands were focusing on indoor training, while Adidas felt it there was an opportunity to change the conversation.
By focusing on the specific emotion, anticipation and excitement for the return of sport – Adidas became the first sports brand to have a powerful point-of-view during the pandemic.
The hero ad was created in just 14 days whilst working in lockdown conditions. The team created a film and a set of two dimensional supporting assets with stock footage and existing campaign imagery added to a carefully crafted script delivered remotely via Zoom by rapper Princess Nokia and based on repeating the “We will…again” phrase.
The flagship 75-second film launched initially via Adidas employees’ social feeds and then within 24 hours was amplified live across all Adidas channels simultaneously, followed by amplification by Adidas athlete ambassadors on their own accounts.
Alongside the core film, the agency also created a GIPHY Instagram sticker that read “READY FOR ___” and encouraged Adidas employees, athletes and fans to fill in the activity or sport they are most looking forward to experiencing again, amplifying the message further. (Click to see our full case study).
Links:
Adidas
https://www.adidas.co.uk/hometeam
https://www.youtube.com/user/adidas
https://www.facebook.com/adidas
https://www.instagram.com/adidas/
Adidas Football
https://www.youtube.com/user/adidasfootballtv
https://twitter.com/adidasfootball
https://www.instagram.com/adidasfootball/
https://www.facebook.com/adidasfootball
Iris
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