Running Is All about Energy in Global adidas Campaign for Ultraboost 19

Amsterdam’s TBWA\NEBOKO, creative partner of adidas Running, is rolling out a global, integrated product campaign for the adidas Ultraboost 19 - the most responsive, energy-charged version of the iconic running silhouette to date.

This first full redesign of the adidas Ultraboost was inspired by, and made for, a new era of running. TBWA\NEBOKO’s creative campaign not only tells the story of the product and its new deconstructed features in a fresh and graphic style, but also represents the authentic culture within adidas’ global running community. The integrated campaign encompasses an entire visual language, animations for online, print, retail, social content – and a TV spot – which gives a unfiltered and honest glimpse into the lives of real runners within the adidas community.

To create the new adidas Ultraboost 19, adidas designers and product developers listened to thousands of runners worldwide to totally reinvent the running shoe. As a brand, adidas has always been about community as much as about innovative design. So for the design of the Ultraboost 19, adidas dived headlong into the thick of real running – asking 4,000 runners about their needs. Almost unanimously, the feedback was that they needed a shoe that was more responsive. So adidas simplified the original adidas Ultraboost from 17 pieces to just 4 performance-driven components, creating a lighter, reboosted silhouette with more responsiveness for a game-changing running experience.

The final result is a no-frills, gender-neutral, highly responsive running shoe designed for what running really looks like today. Because you can’t fake running.

The accompanying ‘Recode Running’ campaign explores how runners from all over the world are ripping running apart and sticking it back together in creative ways. It is bolstered by a 30-second film that features a frenetic mix of live action and animation. adidas Running creative director Thomas Jullien at TBWA\NEBOKO says: “Bringing the first adidas blockbuster to life was unchartered territory for everyone.”

 

Andre Gray, adidas Running creative director adds: “adidas is a brand with such a creatively inspiring expression and vision, we really had to develop a new way of collaborating and a new a way of working to achieve the scale that they were looking for. The result was something that we are really proud of, a system that allows for each channel and each market to create bespoke content that is more relevant to the people they are each talking to, all while being globally cohesive.”

Thomas notes:“To see the work come to life at such a scale, in so many cities, in so many formats across world, is something really special.” Adds Andre, “On top of that, we were able to represent a real community in such a way that they recognized their culture in the stuff we made. That is a massive achievement”

The live-action content was shot in New York City. The film features actual members of the NYC and LA adidas Runners communities, who came together on a windswept and rainy weekend to rip through three of the city’s boroughs.

One of the runners recalls: “We spent hours into the night sprinting in the cold rain. I pulled a muscle, my legs were going numb, and I could not stop shivering. It was a recipe for misery. However, I had the time of my life because I was with a group of people that encouraged me, cheered me on and kept me dancing through the coldest hours. We kept hyping each other up to stay warm and positive. In one moment I thought: wow this is pretty unbearable – I’m so cold and wet I could cry. But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I truly felt like I was a part of something great. I left New York with a new-found energy and passion for adidas Running and what it represents. It’s not just a running group. It’s a mentality, a mindset, a lifestyle, a community. But most of all, it’s a family.”

TBWA\NEBOKO worked closely with animation company Golden Wolf, who successfully worked with the agency on 2018’s Ultraboost Parley campaign. The four hero-animations each focus on a particular USP of the product (boost, torsion spring, 3D heel frame and Primeknit 360), bringing the adidas Ultraboost 19 shoe to life in a singularly crafty way. Using etching and cross-hatching, the result is reminiscent of a deconstructed graphic novel in style.