This first full redesign of the adidas Ultraboost was inspired by, and made for, a new era of running. This running that is more creative, social and open than ever before. 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:
“Bringing the first adidas blockbuster to life was unchartered territory for everyone. “

Andre Gray, adidas Running Creative Director “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.”

Jullien: “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”

Gray: “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.

Watch the animations:

Heel frame

UltraBoost19 – Tuned Torsion Spring

Optimised Boost

Primeknit 360

Credits
Client: Adidas
Campaign: Ultraboost 19
Agency: TBWA\NEBOKO
Strategic Agency: Brand Articulations
Animation Company: Golden Wolf
Illustration Company: Black Out Ronin

Tags:
Adidas Running, TBWA\NEBOKO, Brand Articulations, Golden Wolf, Black Out Ronin, Adidas Ads, Adidas Campaign, Adidas commercials, Ultraboost 19, Adidas Ultraboost 19, Best Digital Campaigns, Digital Marketing Trends, Best Online marketing strategies, social media campaigns, Integrated campaign, gender-neutral

#myfutureis

Credits:
Advertising Agency: Johannes Leonardo, New York, USA
Chief Creative Officers: Jan Jacobs, Leo Premutico
Creative Directors: Ferdinando Verderi, Wesley Phelan, Matthew Edwards
Chief Strategy Officer: Andrew Dawson
Account Directors: Sam McCallum, Dom Dalton
Account Supervisor: Gulru Soylu
Head of Production: Cedric Gairard
Executive Producer Film: Justin Lane
Executive Producer Print: Maria Perez
Producer Film: Tina Diep
Producer Print: Adam Gong
Senior Designer : Elena Miska
Designer: Michael Riso
Film production: RSA Films
Director: Terence Neale
President / Executive Producer: Jules Daly
Executive Producer: Tracie Norfleet
Producer: Betsy Blakemore
Director of Photography: Sebastian Wintero
Production company: Pioneer Films
Executive Producer: Melinda Szepesi
Production company: Egg Films
Executive Producer: Rozanne Rocha-Gray
Producer : Dagny Warmerdam
Editorial: Exile
Editors: Shane Reid, Nate Gross
Executive Producer: Carol Lynne Weaver
Senior Producer: Melanie Gagliano
Producer: Viet-An Nguyen
Assistant Editor: Mari Celeste Garrahan
VIisual effects: MPC
VFX Supervisor: Rob Walker
Head of 3D: Vicky Osborn
CG Creative Director: Rob Petrie
Managing Director: Justin Brukman
Executive Producer: Camila De Biaggi
Producer: Sophie Gibson
Color: Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Producer: Clare Movshon
Motion graphics: Elastic
Graphics Artist: Peter Murphy
Executive Producer: Jennifer Sofio Hall
Producer: Catherine Yi
Music: Squeak E Clean
Composer: Justin Hori
Vocalist: Daisy Hamel-Buffa
Executive Producer: Carol Dunn
Music Producer: Chris Shaw
Sound design: Q Department
Sound Engineers: Steve Rosen, Brian Goodheart
Executive Producer: Justine Cortale
Producer: Pat Sullivan