Adidas’ “Sports Needs Creators” Campaign Takes Shots at Rivals Nike and Under Armour

Firing subliminal shots at competitors Nike and Under Armour, Adidas debuted their newest campaign advertisement. It emphasises the significance of creativity within sports and according to the narrator, “brings something new and different to the game”.

Adidas and Nike have had a long-established rivalry over the decades. However, in recent times the competition between the two has become more perceivable, with the growing emergence of Under Amour increasing competition and justifying Adidas’ attempt to gain a sizeable portion of the market.

The “Sports Needs Creators” ad campaign illustrates how becoming an athlete is not just about mastering a sport or a workout regime, but also discovering creative ways to make the game your own. The advertisement says, “If you call yourself an athlete create something,” a quote that could be read as a subliminal shot at Nike’s Bill Bowerman slogan, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” While also taking shots at UA, who have been branding themselves as ‘a brand for athletes serious about training’.

However for a campaign asserting creativity, Adidas seems to be lacking some. “Yeah, yeah, hard work and dedication. But that’s not enough. You look at this cookie-cutter, copy-and-paste BLAH,” so says the narrator as the manic camerawork moves from football fields to basketball courts which seems be a direct reference to Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” and its hundreds of clones of Stephen Curry. The free-flowing, opinionated voiceover, could be interpreted as direct reference to Nike’s ‘Unlimited you” campaign, which defeats the point of Adidas’ core argument.

With Adidas being able to boast their numerous creative and successful collaborations. The advertisement, featuring the likes of featuring Paul Pogba, Aaron Rodgers, Von Miller and Brandon Ingram; indicates the Three Stripes continuing desire to bridge the gap between sports and lifestyle.

*This Article was written for Protien, by Kevin Arulrajah