Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Originality Sells

Unique.  Different.  Original.  This is what companies strive to be.  In Adidas' latest running ad campaign, they take their originality to the max and "celebrate 60 years of soles and stripes".  Adidas has always been known for their soccer cleats and apparel.  Currently they hold a market share of about 34% in these areas worldwide.  With the incoming revenue from soccer apparel, Adidas has always had a running casual show line.  Never has it been a main point of focus though, as only 27% of Adidas sales come from North America.  This commercial, however, shows their stance may be changing when it comes to footwear.

This commercial seemingly captivates audiences immediately.  The song selection is perfect with the theme of the rest of the commercial.  It puts the viewers in a happy mood; which in turn makes them feel good about the product they are being shown.  The party going on in the background has an exciting, youthful, and rebellious feel to it.  Perfect for their target market of people within the ages of approximately 16 to 30.  With this original shoe, comes good vibes and good times.  The use of celebrities within the commercial (David Beckham, Kevin Garnett, Katy Perry, amongst others) helps the viewers relate to the shoe with the familiarity of easily recognizable figures.

It will be interesting to watch the results of this campaign.  I feel Adidas did a very good job of making the viewer feel they were actually at the party.  At the same time, this is a type of commercial technique Adidas has never done before.  The other commercials in the campaign include one in a Star Wars setting, and another with a bunch of people riding bikes around a neighborhood.  I think these ads will grab the audiences attention simply due to the unfamiliarity of this type of ad associated with Adidas along with the interesting setting.  They also made it extremely clear what they were advertising so the message will stick.  I look forward to seeing more.

Adidas Originals House Party Commercial



Adam Hanson is currently a Senior at Wake Forest University.  He is set to graduate with a major in Business Enterprise Management with a concentration in marketing.

2 comments:

  1. nice. what's your take on the tagline "celebrate originality?"

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  2. This commercial and more specifically the tagline “Celebrate Originality” plays perfectly into the hierarchy of needs proposed by Abraham Maslow. Specifically it touches on the top three needs, which are: self-actualization, ego needs, and belongingness. Rather than explicitly discuss the functions of the shoe (like letting you run faster, jump higher, etc.) the commercial addresses the social and self benefits of wearing the shoe. It invites the viewer into the party and makes them feel like they are actually there partying with all these celebrities. You become a participant in the commercial and feel that Adidas’ shoes will provide you with this sort of social interaction regularly. The commercial also utilizes ego needs by featuring so many celebrities. The message is if you wear these shoes you can be just as accomplished and cool as them. By having “ordinary people” at the same party with these celebrities you get the message that the only thing standing between you and fame are a pair of tennis shoes. Finally Adidas appeals to one’s sense of self-actualization by celebrating the individual spirit throughout the commercial. They start by showing an individual doing graffiti art, presumably an expression of individual spirit. They continue this by having people riding skateboards and motorcycles, again acts commonly believed to be expressions of individualism. They then show the partiers acting wild, supposedly acting like their true selves, no holds barred. They wrap up this theme of individuality by showing a single shoe in the water and flashing the tagline “Celebrate Originality”. While Adidas cannot offer consumers much in the way of satisfying safety and physiological needs, they do an excellent job of capturing social experience, fame, and individual spirit all in commercial.

    -Michael Austin

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