2022 is a big year for both soccer fans and adidas with the new Japan uniform being revealed for the World Cup. However, in recent years, there are increasing cases of “media leaks” disrupting the big unveiling, and by the official launch, both media and fans have lost interest.

Adidas needed a brand new idea to maximize the amount of buzz and uniform sales under the worst possible circumstances.

All it took was one disruptive tweet to turn leak culture to our advantage

Adidas, the official uniform supplier for Japan's national soccer team, has been preparing to unveil its new uniforms in 2022 - the year of the World Cup. However, in recent years, leaks of the uniforms by the media have disrupted the official announcement. By the time the new uniforms were unveiled, many people's interest had waned. So Adidas asked the artist of a famous soccer manga to tweet a single post depicting the new uniforms of the Japanese national team, which no one was supposed to know about yet. The single post on twitter spread quickly on social media and caused great speculation, with some users even creating their own 3D renders. At the moment of the official announcement, the buzz was further maximized when it was revealed that the whole thing was an intentional leak.

We achieved a planned information leak by reversing the leak culture and creating content that is relatable to the target audience.

In order to make it easier for GenZ that's sensitive to trends, we focused on content that they are passionate about. More than 90% of the target audience enjoys reading manga in their everyday lives. Adidas teamed up with the popular soccer manga "BLUE LOCK" with more than 13 million copies in circulation and the anime adaptation ranking No. 1 in the animation category on Netflix, it's the most popular soccer manga of the moment. We asked the author of the manga, to sneak confidential information on twitter (The most popular Social Platform in Japan) to the rest of the world. At launch, by recovering the foreshadowing, he turned the amount of interest and buzz around the GenZ uniforms into something sustainable.

July, 2022: Pre-launch

It all began with a single tweet by the artist of a popular soccer manga with a illustration. Next to the protagonist wearing the uniform, are the words, “2022 new uniform”. Fans on social media went crazy with speculation with one fan rendering a 3D model of the revealed kit. Fans and media in Japan and abroad was all over this “leak”, and Adidas' silence on the situation created excitement on Twitter built excitement for manga fans and soccer fans alike.

August, 2022: Launch

On the day of the official launch, adidas finally revealed that the “leak” was made by them. The social media-sphere tipped their hat to the clever stunt by the brand, which resulted in record-breaking media coverage. Manga-inspired visuals of the uniform filled the streets of Shibuya, Tokyo, building a cultural peak and momentous occasion worthy of the new uniform.

Total Engagement: 2,650,000

*The highest engagement ever compared to the past 3 months after the launch of previous new uniforms

SOLD OUT at adidas online shop

12 WEEKS SALES 716% of the previous World Cup

Due to the built up excitement prior to the reveal, there was a continuous buzz about the uniforms and manga after the announcement, resulting in a record high of over 2.6 million engagements on social media. Not only did the new uniforms sell out at adidas online shop, but online sales went up 716% compared to the previous World Cup. The continuous buzz generated before and after the release of the new uniforms had a significant impact on the brand.