Although the World Cup was in Qatar, Dubai (with its young, expat demographic) would see significant excitement, traffic and noise over the period. Therefore it would be the perfect place to disrupt and delight with adidas’ World Cup message and ‘Family Reunion’ campaign.

adidas wanted to create a unique pop-up retail experience, driving awareness of its global ‘Family Reunion’ World Cup campaign; an impossible reunion of adidas football stars from all nations for the World Cup, amongst the noise competing to have a voice in the football space.

The experience would need to cater for the retail launch of the brand’s World Cup offering; Al Rihla Football boots, federation jerseys, the official match ball, as well as limited edition World Cup collections.

Objectives:

- Drive retail sales of adidas’ World Cup product offering

- Disrupt and delight Gen Z football fans to increase brand love and awareness of the campaign

Al Rihla Avenue: Welcome to our home.

We wanted to create a pop-up experience that stood out from its surroundings, creating shock and intrigue amongst football fans.

Inspired by the adidas ‘Family Reunion’ World Cup creative; we concepted and designed a 70s themed house, complete with front drive and garden – and to the surprise of football fans - it would be floating in the middle of the iconic Burj Khalifa fountains.

An adidas family house which would evolve throughout the World Cup period; filled with easter eggs to discover, full of nostalgia, World Cup history and programmed with pop-culture.

adidas’ bullseye demographic was Gen Z football fans. However, for this stunt, we wanted to capture the attention of a wider demographic. Activating outside Dubai Mall meant we could intercept audiences from all cultures; with a shared behavioral mindset to explore, shop and engage.

Approach:

To create a guerilla moment of significant impact, it needed to feel authentic. Considering every detail, immersing fans in adidas’ footballing world and bringing the campaign to life in a physical environment.

We wanted guests to feel they were stepping back in time to an immersive retro past; from the style of the kitchen, to the garden and swimming pool, every touchpoint was carefully considered.

Guests were invited to join the ‘Family Reunion – embedding moments of adidas’ World Cup history along the way and activating a programme of events and experiences to keep content feeling fresh.

A doorbell marked the journey’s start and tone, with a welcome message from Stormzy.

Inside, guests played retro FIFA on an old school TV, open the kitchen Fridge to find the golden boot, or pick up a 70s telephone to activate highlights of Messi’s greatest world cup moments. Embedded retail displays along the journey felt organic and highly engaging.

In the garden, fans could browse football jerseys on the washing line or scan the QR code to unlock a groundbreaking AR experience; giant Messi and Benzema doing kick-ups either side of the Burj Khalifa.

The house hosted a programme of events; private house parties for competition winners and country-themed reactive fan days based on the teams’ progress in the competition.

Timeline:

September 2022: Project awarded

September - November 2022: Pre-production and creative development

November/December 2022: Project live

Scale

300sqm, including a 15m walkway for public access to the pontoon.

Through a highly creative experience, that optimised every touch point, the stunt exceeded its key objectives of driving retail sales, brand love and campaign awareness. It achieved:

Change in behaviour:

The guerilla stunt changed the game on how retail experiences should be concepted and designed. Rather than shopfronts, the experience took customers into new worlds, on a journey of discovery; with products embedded at the heart of the experience.

Consumer awareness:

The adidas family house became a hotspot for regional influencers throughout the tournament. Hanging out at one of Dubai’s prime locations in an environment designed for content creation led to significant amplification of the experience.

Footfall:

37K total footfall