Montreal’s Sid Lee has created a quintessentially British campaign for Adidas promoting the athletic apparel company’s status as a British Olympic Association sponsor and official sportswear partner for the London Olympics.
The newest iteration of the “Take the stage” campaign broke at the conclusion of Sunday’s Euro Cup soccer final with a 60-second spot that debuted simultaneously on YouTube and the British TV network ITV.
The campaign is intended to cement the association between the apparel company and the Olympics in advance of the Games’ July 27 opening, said Nick Craggs, London-based marketing director, U.K. and Ireland, for Adidas.
Adidas has been a sponsor of the British Olympic Association (Team GB) for more than 25 years.
“When you set out on a sponsorship you’ve got to make sure you cut through, but that’s everyone’s objective,” said Craggs. “The spot was really intended to provide a very different and engaging take on the Olympics.”
The challenge, said Craggs, was to create a campaign emphasizing Adidas’s status as a youth-oriented brand within a property that transcends demographics.
The umbrella spot juxtaposes images of some of Britain’s most famous Olympic athletes preparing for the start of their event with all of the other things an athlete must “take”—fan mail, online marriage proposals, tabloid hysteria, the upset, the backlash, the knocks—to get there.
The spot concludes with the voiceover saying “Take the lot. Cos this time will never come again” accompanied by a super reading “Great. Britain. Take. The. Stage.”
“We have to make sure we have the right content that is engaging to a younger audience,” said Craggs. “With this ad we’ve provided really deep, insightful content both into the athletes and through meaningful cultural references.”
A series of 30-second spots promoting individual British athletes will also run throughout the Games. The video spots are being supported by out-of-home elements including superboards and bus-side advertising.
