A new NCAA March Madness themed campaign starring new endorser and LSU Tigers hoops star Hailey Van Lith sees adidas aim to help young athletes everywhere overcome self-doubt on the court and remember the joy of the sport.
Objective
This hoops focused chapter of the sportswear giant’s new global ‘You Got This‘ brand campaign – based around helping elite and grassroots athletes forget the pressure and return to the love and joy of sport – was released to leverage spiking college basketball interest around the biggest event in US college sport – the NCAA’s ‘March Madness’ Men’s and Women’s Division 1 Tournaments.
Activation
The German brand’s campaign features 22-year-old point guard Van Lith and aims to remind elite and everyday athletes to ‘embrace the nature of sport as a game and play free’. Set to the tune of Queen and David Bowie’s classic track ‘Under Pressure’, the new spot amplifies the brand’s recent marketing focus on helping elite and grassroots athletes disarm pressure and return to the love and joy of sport.
The US commercial airs on TV during both the Men’s and Women’s tournament across broadcast networks and social channels and is backed by additional social content.
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Throughout the college hoops tournaments, the brand will engage and amplify several of its NIL Network athletes across social channels to showcase their unique styles with adidas product and to share personal stories of how they overcame pressure.
“Throughout my journey with the sport, I never shied away from a challenge and that’s made me the competitor I am today. Putting yourself in situations where you’re tested and proving that you can overcome internal or external pressure gives you confidence to play freely and lean into those competitive moments, like championship tournaments, with eagerness rather than fear. It’s critical to remind yourself that you’ve navigated pressure before and just focus on being the player and teammate you know you can be.”
LSU Tiger Guard & Adidas Ambassador Hailey Van Lith
Adidas originally partnered with college hoops phenom Van Lith back in late 2023 and Van Lith also fronted the brand’s social campaign for its 2024 basketball collection.
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The Van Lith campaign ran in parallel with another Adidas women’s basketball initiative called ‘Three Moments’ with Candace Parker & Aliyah Boston
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“As athletes navigate high-stake sport moments throughout their careers, it can be difficult to cope with the weight of expectations. Our focus is helping these athletes re-capture the joy they have playing sports. In partnership with Hailey Van Lith, we’re inspiring the next generation of athletes, and helping them get back to why they started playing sports in the first place – to have fun.”
Adidas Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing Chris Murphy
The campaign also coincides with an Adidas announcement that its ‘NIL Ambassador Network’ of college sports stars has surpassed 12,000 student-athletes.
Adidas’ desire to empower athletes was at the core of the company’s announcement of the band’s NIL student athlete network in March 2022: an initiative giving all student-athletes at adidas-partnered Division 1 schools the chance to benefit from their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
Outcome
Since its inception, over 12,000 student-athletes across a variety of sports have now joined the network and have earned / are earning a percentage of the sales they drive for key products and campaigns.
It is college programs in basketball, track and field, football, soccer, and baseball have the highest sport representation across the network.
According to Adidas, the company is already seeing tangible results from its expanding NIL network: including millions of social media impressions driven by student-athletes and feedback from participants that the network is helpful in driving entrepreneurial growth.
This success has seen Adidas double down and state that it will continue to invest and evolve the network based on insights gathered over the past two years. The brand also plans to visit university schools nationwide to educate student-athletes on growing NIL opportunities.
In addition to the expansion of its NIL roster, adidas will continue to partner with its university partners and student-athletes to drive long-term equity in sport and create unique, innovative product.
This is a US strand of Adidas umbrella ‘You Got This’ rallying cry which launched in February 2024 through a debut campaign fronted by a varied team of sporting icons and brand athlete ambassadors – including eight-time WNBA All-Star Nneka Ogwumike – to demonstrate how the world’s best athletes manage pressure and inspire everyday athletes to do the same.