On the internet, anyone can be the ultimate football icon. If not for 15 minutes, then for the length of a Snapchat film or a YouTube upload.

But it’s not enough to upload the clip. To cut through, you have to demand attention. You can’t just say you were good - you have to claim you BOSSed it. And it’s not enough to say you bossed your little pitch - to rule the world, you have to beat EVERYONE.

Using the power of meme culture we created a social video vehicle for anyone to show off their skills, celebrate their attitude - and BOSS EVERYONE. We used our biggest players to show the way, then opened it up for anyone to claim the title.

We took the modern democracy of internet fame - and invited our audience to play.

The campaign launched with a single film - a footballing legend showing off, claiming his Bossness. Standard. Then we followed it up with another legend, and another. Each knocking the previous off their perch. Then some random kid claimed to be the boss. And that’s when things snowballed…

We released a mixture of films shot with top-tier players, well-known football influencers and some unknown but talented young players. These were rolled out across different platforms so every time one claimed to be The Boss, another would pop up to stake his own claim. Momentum gathered and our audience started ripping our end slates, or creating their own elements which mimicked the ads. Then we started phase 2 - a call to action for kids to submit their own.

All throughout, the boots formed a core part of the visual language, tying it back into the retail campaign.

Organic sharing and engaging content racked up over 150+ Million views (+172% above target) with zero media spend. EVERYONE Bossed.

This wasn’t just a case of laceless versus bits of string. Positive sentiment ratio for the campaign was 250% above target…

… But 95 % viewer retention rate meant that our viewers got to the product punchline at the end of the film.

Social conversation mechanic and engaging content ensured the content racked up 15 million unique engagements.

Sellout of product beat targets by +33%. Sales. Bossed.

Throughout the campaign adidas experienced a +20% faster growth in followers on social channels compared to Nike. Competitor. Bossed.