Title | The Spark (90 sec) |
Agency | 180 Amsterdam |
Campaign | Every Team Needs The Spark - adidas |
Advertiser | adidas |
Brand | adidas |
Date of First Broadcast/Publication | 2009 / 5 |
Product | F50i |
Business Sector | Sneakers / Athletic Footwear |
Story | SUMMARY: The objectives of the adidas campaign were to increase F50 sales without undermining margin, to drive a new interest in the F50 boot: inspire and get the audience to find out more about the product and to increase engagement in the overall adidas football brand and the business. The core audience is hardcore football players. The hardcore audience is concerned ultimately about how products can affect their game on the pitch. Whilst Nike took first mover advantage, research showed that speed positioning alone was actually not especially motivating; what the audience wanted was speed with the ball and the F50 had all the features to deliver that. adidas celebrated the role of the 'fast footwork player' and gave the F50 greater relevance within the team key to de-position the competitor boot that only talked about straight line speed of individuals. "Every Team Needs" was the campaign's creative foundation. By building on the personas that underpinned the 'fast' playing style we could bring more depth and flexibility to the message. In order to tell these stories in the most compelling and distinct way possible, adidas needed a bold visual approach: the solution was a graphic novel style. This graphic world allowed the agency to bring to life super hero alter egos representing players' skills and their role on the pitch, beginning with Lionel Messi as The Spark. The campaign narrative showed Zinedine Zidane as a mysterious individual scouting the world to identify and gather the players that every team needs. Results show that the campaign transformed online football audience into brand advocates though their blogs (Comscore estimates advocates are worth 2x to 3x more than average consumers).In addition, F50 sales grew consistently in main European football markets whilst protecting margin. Looking at overall sales and dividing that by marketing investment, the campaign showed an improvement year on year of 76%. |
Media Type | Web Film |
Length | |
Market | France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain |
Actor / Celebrity | Zinedine Zidane |
Actor / Celebrity | Lionel Messi |
Production Company | Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ) |
Director | Rupert Sanders |
Executive Producer | Debbie Turner |
Producer | Nell Jordan |
Director of Photography (DOP) | Alwin Kuchler |
Head of Account | Dan Gibson |
Account Manager | Feliciano Robayna |
Account Director | Matt Jennings |
Agency Producer | Joe Togneri |
Executive Creative Director | Andy Fackrell |
Executive Creative Director | Richard Bullock |
Copywriter | Peter Albores |
Art Director | Martin Terhart |
Advertising Manager | Levin Reyher |
Advertising Manager | Andrew Lux |
Advertising Manager | Timo Kaemmer |
Editing Company | Work Editorial |
Editor | Neil Harris |
Producer | Jane Dillworth |
Sound Producer | Daniel Cross |
Sound Design Company | Alex Nicholls Lee |
Telecine | Adam Scott |
Editing Company | The Mill London |
Audio Post Production | Wave Amsterdam |
Media Rep. | Carat |