The footwear branding and shoe advertising history of the company is quite interesting, meaning that it has seen a lot of ups and downs throughout its journey. However, facing all kinds of competitions and hurdles, only made the Adidas branding game stronger. And what we see today of the brand is mostly because of its smart and strategic marketing campaigns. 

Looking closely at the market, it is considered the “good guy” because most of Adidas’ advertising is practical and people-related, even though it features high-profile celebrities and athletes. The image of the brand Adidas in the eyes of the audience is seen as inspiring and motivating in exchange for how naturally its campaigns are styled. 

The emphasis of Adidas’ branding has always been on creating a positive impact in people’s minds. Let’s dive into the case study of the marketing campaigns of Adidas

What is Adidas?

Adidas is a multinational corporation, based in Germany that manufactures footwear, clothing, and related accessories. Founded by Adolf Dassler in 1924, the sportswear company has more than 2,000 stores all over the world. Starting from the development of spiked athletic shoes, called spikes, the brand now produces all sorts of footwear, sportswear, and accessories for men, women, and children. 

Leaving behind top companies like Reebok, Puma, Lululemon, Jordan, etc., it has become the largest footwear manufacturer in Europe. The brand has maintained its image as inclusive and diverse, as witnessed by the earliest logo consisting of three leaves, in which the left is for North and South America, the top for Europe and Africa, and the right for Asia.

Due to its constructive branding and pragmatic image, it is preferred by prominent athletes and famous personalities. One interesting thing about the company and its marketing is it is seen as a brand for the typical audience, keeping in mind its sustainability at reasonable prices. All the products offered by the company are considered to be highly functional, environment-friendly, and qualitative.

Why does Adidas do marketing?

The competition in the sports industry has become tougher than ever as people now have realized the profound scope of athletics. And since Adidas is the second-largest player in the sportswear industry, it needs to keep up its game in order to maintain its position above the rest companies and step up to beat the topmost company. And that is exactly why Adidas needs marketing campaigns.

Also, there always are new products launched through the company, and in order to make sure that the target audience is aware of new collections and lines, marketing is necessary. Marketing campaigns, along with, promoting the brand and its products, provide some credibility and assurance to the customers. People get an overall idea of what they are about to get into.

Apart from this, it has a reputation to maintain. People, unknowingly build certain expectations from such organizations, and marketing campaigns help keep up a positive image. Adidas advertising helps the corporation display its core values and ethics to the public out there.

Top Marketing Campaigns (Offline) Case Study: Adidas  

Here is a list comprising marketing campaigns of Adidas, that helped the brand make it to the top of the industry.

Impossible Is Nothing

This was the most popular and powerful campaign of Adidas branding. The idea of the campaign was inspired by the great athlete, Muhammad Ali’s words. The campaign started in the form of a commercial advertisement, featuring Muhammad Ali himself with other prominent athletes like David Beckham, Zidane, Platini, etc. The voice-over and the background music were specially composed to complement the motivational and athletic vibe of the video.

In this ad, all these athletes were shown playing football with ordinary kids on the street, bridging the gap between famous stars and common people.  The idea and vibe of the entire commercial were very inspiring and encouraging to go the extra mile. And that’s what grabbed the attention of the viewers and made it one of the best ads of all time.

Just Browsing, Thanks!

This was literally the smoothest and most appealing marketing campaign ever. It was launched in the form of a poster that featured Derrick Rose and a collaborated line of shoes, called “D Rose 3.5.” Derrick Rose is a basketball player, and he can be seen jumping to pick a pair of shoes in the poster ad as well. 

The interesting catch of this campaign was that the brand introduced a contest in which the shoes from the collection were placed 10 feet high, and whoever jumped that high will get those sneakers for free. This idea drove a lot of traffic to the stores and energized the target audience. Also, this ad made it to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2014 as a nominee. 

Take The Deal, Dare to Create

This Adidas advertising campaign was launched to promote their new boot collection and introduce their soccer brand, Adidas Football. Some of the most popular football players like Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba were featured in the commercial advertisement. The theme of the ad produced a very sci-fi and energetic vibe with the use of upbeat music and neon colors.

Additionally, people were highly fascinated with animation and visual effects. This marketing campaign’s motive was to inspire people to build something unique and special of their own by going bold or taking the deal. Successfully, the commercial ad received about 2.5 million views in just 2 minutes on YouTube.

Your Future Is Not Mine

This marketing campaign was designed to introduce and promote new NMD shoes and sneakers from Adidas Originals. The campaign was launched with a video ad that shows a lot of young adults walking toward their future. A powerful track by Daisy Hamel Buffa named “Your Future Is Not Mine” was also composed which perfectly complemented the video.

The whole idea of this campaign was directed at the younger generation i.e. the millennials and GenZs telling them that they should walk on their own unique paths. An optimistic message of believing in one’s aspirations and creating their own future is given out by Adidas. The ad received a huge positive response from the viewers.

There Aren’t Plenty Of Fish In The Sea Anymore

As the name suggests, this ad was a green campaign launched by Adidas, in collaboration with Parley, a non-profit organization that looks after oceans. The brand very smartly used the cause marketing here to promote their new collection of shoes that are made of plastic removed from the oceans and seas.

This Adidas advertising was designed in a way that looked like an awareness poster rather than a promotional ad. Showing environmental concerns and spreading awareness about how oceans are getting toxic attracted customers to the brand. Subconsciously, it buttered up the brand image as well.

Adidas Performance

This marketing campaign was launched in the 90s when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, and this was an attempt to get back in the game. The most important thing about this marketing campaign was the introduction of its new logo, the 3 stripes. This marketing campaign advertised the innovative technologies and changes in the branding process used by the brand. 

Also, the motive was to promote the new equipment line called “Adidas Performance”. The collection was specially designed for professional athletes and their high-functioning needs. Staggeringly, this marketing campaign proved to be a success in the market.

Adidas Style

This marketing campaign of Adidas was also launched with the important motive of introducing the newest logo, a circle with 3-claw-like stripes. It represented the company’s take on fashion-oriented projects. The audience was impressed with the new trendy collection that included more than just footwear.

The collection featured a line of stylish line of clothing, shoes, and accessories created in collaboration with Yohji Yamamoto, the famous Japanese fashion designer. The line was named Y-3 and became really popular among people.

Conclusion

Concluding all the above points, it can be derived that Adidas advertising has always been inspiring and motivational ads that people can relate with. The brand smartly strategizes and collaborates with high-profile athletes and celebrities that put them and common people on the same level. The sportswear company has also used the idea of cause marketing to show its concern and responsibility toward the environment. The brand has never failed to put out its moral values and ethics.