After years of flat sales, adidas Originals found the Leading into 2014, adidas Originals - adidas’ sub brand dedicated to streetwear - had drifted away from relevance and lost its cultural status following more than a decade in decline.

Nike’s Jordan brand came to dominate global streetwear not only in conversation, but also in sales, and warning bells began to go off in the organization when Under Armour overtook adidas to become the second biggest sports brand in the US market.

To lift from decline and win in an ever-changing cultural and media landscape, adidas Originals needed a communications idea that would drive Originals back into the conversation and reposition it as an influential and connected brand.

The Idea: The “Strikethru”

Originals took on a the role of a fighter on behalf of the creative people that influence streetwear culture. Each year the brand set out to challenge a specific barrier that holds creativity back - relevant to cultural context and the product(s) the campaign was tasked with selling.

Each campaign would re-contextualize a specific word, and redefine it in a way that fueled creativity rather than stifle it. At the end of each campaign, the word would literally be crossed out and struck through by adidas’ iconic three stripes.

Results:

The “Strikethru” campagin resulted in an 85% growth in sales across three years, beating the brand’s 5-year sales goal two years early.

The three-year campaign resulted in massive increase in brand perception measured by Net Promoter Score - our most important brand metric.

Each chapter of the campaign further cemented the brand in culture and delivered stunning return on marketing investment.

2015 Superstar:

adidas Originals becomes most liked sneaker brand on social, and Superstar becomes the best selling sneaker in the world

2015 Superstar:

NMD becomes the most successful shoe launch in Originals history.

2017 My Way

The film became YouTube’s 7th Most Watched Ad of 2017 (globally)

The campaign sold more shoes than any in the history of the brand.

The sustained, 3 year journey proved to be extremely successful over three different challenges, driving multiple record-setting shoe launches, establishing the most profitable period in the company’s history, and even overtaking the mighty Jordan brand. More importantly, it solidified the company’s dedication to inspiring creative courage, solidifying the brand’s place in streetwear enthusiasts’ hearts around the world.