Adidas

CREATIVE STRATEGY

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Assignment:  Support the launch of the iconic Adidas All Star original clothing line.

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

The All Star line is synonymous with old school hip-hop and breakdancing culture. The iconic clothing line was made famous by the likes Run DMC and other hip-hop trailblazers. Therein lied the challenge, how to reintroduce an iconic clothing line to a new generation of media savvy hip hop and break dance fans in a modern way yet maintain the integrity of the All Star original clothing line’s relationship with urban street culture that helped bring the line into notoriety.

THE SOLUTION

Create a piece branded content that was relevant and authentic to a new group of young hip hop and break dance fans and connect them to the heritage of the Adidas original’s clothing line. I conceived and created a viral music video that was a reinterpretation of iconic breakdancing videos of the past by teaming up with modern day break   dancers and filming them in urban settings wearing the new product line and share content on social and hip hop and break dance social blogs etc.

A short dance video clip I uncovered that was filmed in the London Underground back in the mid 1980’s inspired this project. It reminded me of the incredible work that a young collective of documentarians known as YAK Films had been producing in their efforts to document the cultural significance of the modern urban dance scene.

I decided to pay homage to that video; the song, the kids, and a nod to the Adidas apparel they were rocking back then. What was iconic then, seems to be iconic now. 

The concept was to remix the song and the classic footage of those kids in London breaking to Al-Naafiysh, a classic break dance song with a new remix of the song and footage of the Oakland-based break dancing crew doing their own modern rendition of the dancing shot back in the day. I enlisted the remixing talents of Sammy Bananas from Fool's Gold Records, both artist and label are respected in modern urban youth culture and made the connection between old and new even more relevant and authentic. The remixed song itself became a club hit further exposing the campaign to other culturally channels.

RESULT

Over 2 million views on YouTube. Wide coverage on Hip Hop and Street Culture blog and website. Total media value of $1 million with an ROI of approximately 190%.