There’s A New Sheriff In Town: Anthony Edwards Adidas AE 1 Shoe Campaign Taking The Game By Storm

Nick Ducheine
Marketing in the Age of Digital
3 min readJul 29, 2024

The NBA is filled with talented basketball players, but there are very few who have that “DAWG” mentality like Anthony Edwards. The Urban Dictionary definition of a DAWG Mentality as “An internal drive, confidence, and aggression that resides within certain people. Anthony Edwards is a full grown pit bull on the court, embodying everything it means to have that DAWG in you. Like many NBA greats before him, it is only right that he has now dropped his first shoe, the AE 1, with Adidas. Using his increasing popularity to fuel their digital marketing campaign.

Adidas Coming In Hot

Adidas has been a major player in the athletic apparel for over 70 years, so it is no surprise that they came out strong with the marketing of the AE 1 shoe. Using the #BeleiveThat as a overarching theme that this rising star is silencing all the haters who think he is overhyped while also:

  1. Enhancing brand visibility and relevance among young basketball enthusiasts.
  2. Strengthening their position against competitors like Nike and Under Armour.
  3. Driving sales for the new AE 1 sneaker line (obviously).
  4. Creating a strong association between Edwards’ personal brand and Adidas, fostering long-term loyalty.

Anthony Edwards campaign is solidifying the AE 1’s presence in the basketball footwear market. By leveraging Edwards’ rising star power, and capitalizing on his confident persona that so many people love.

Get Your AE 1s Fresh Off The Press

Like I told you before Anthony Edwards is known for having that “DAWG” in him, which is why Adidas has taken an aggressive approach to marketing this shoe. Each one of the ad’s has had a very candid feel with Edwards confidently talking about being the best, while taking shots at other NBA superstars shoes as seen in the video below. This has led to a sense of authenticity amongst their target audience of young basketball players and sneaker enthusiast.

They want the younger generation of basketball players to not only buy the shoe, but to view it as the best shoe on the market because of the player that it represents. Just like Micheal Jordan and Lebron James who had everyone in a chokehold over each one of their shoe releases. There have even been many comparisons of Edward’s playing style to the likes of MJ, which is the one of the highest compliment one can achieve as a basketball player.

Adidas Gets An A+ For Content Creation

When you have a personality like the Ant Man it makes the creative departments job so much easier. They are creating marketing masterpieces that is revolutionizing the basketball sneaker world.

  1. Storytelling: Showing Edward’s personal journey and response to doubters, crafting a compelling storyline of resilience and grit that resonates with athletes and fans.
  2. Social Media: Adidas utilized platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to share behind-the-scenes content, teasers, and interactive posts.
  3. Collaborations and Influencers: They collaborated with popular social media influencers and athletes to amplify the campaign’s reach. These influencers shared the campaign content, creating hype and driving their followers to engage with the brand.
  4. Video Content: The centerpiece of the campaign is high-quality video commercials featuring Edwards.

The AE 1 Effect

The Anthony Edwards x Adidas campaign was highly effective, leading to increased brand engagement, visibility, and sales of the AE 1. The campaign stirred up engagement across social media with people actively participating in discussions, sharing content, and showing support for Edwards and the AE 1 line. Using Edwards’ popularity Adidas achieved a great amount of visibility within the basketball community and beyond. Overall, the campaign is a huge success for Adidas, a well-executed mix of compelling content and strategic digital platform utilization. Now go out and buy some AE 1s so you can see how it feels to play like a DAWG!

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Nick Ducheine
Marketing in the Age of Digital

A young professional getting my Masters in Integrated Marketing at NYU where I currently work as an Events & Marketing manager for the Athletics department.