adidas has joined forces with United State of Fans\TBWA, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, We Are Social, FITCH and Tribal DDB Amsterdam to pull together a campaign spanning advertising, comms, PR, social, digital, retail and experiential in order to launch its new silo of football boots Nitrocharge.
Joining the Predator, f50 and adiPure ranges currently on the market, Nitrocharge has been designed for a specific type of player – ‘The Engine’. The player who is always on, running, tackling and passing with relentless energy and no fear, the type of player who reflects the technology incorporated into the new boot which aims to increase and retain as much energy as possible.
Both the idea and the player type were used as the inspiration for the campaign with the lead comms agency United State of Fans\TBWA working on the creation of the campaign. Part of the campaign was shot in Barcelona with a selection of key faces wearing the new boot, the 60” TV creative which debut this weekend during the UEFA Champions League Final will now air worldwide during key matches over the coming weeks.
Brand ambassadors and ‘Engine’ players Javi Martinez (FC Bayern Munich) and Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund) wore the boots on-pitch during Saturday’s Champions League Final with global players including Daniele De Rossi (A.S. Roma), Dani Alves (Barcelona) and Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris Saint Germain) also set to wear the boots.
To support the campaign sports statisticians Opta conducted research into what exactly ‘The Engine’ player is through the development of an algorithm. Hill + Knowlton Strategies, adidas’ global football PR agency, then worked on developing the idea of ‘The Engine’. We Are Social has also been engaged to lead the conversation on social media, driving interest in #TheEngine. adidas’ lead social agency for global football has also been tasked with creating ‘Power Pitch’, an event that will bring to life the energy technology in the boot and test groups of players, recruited through smaller local events, who will aim to prove themselves as the ultimate ‘Engine’.
Tribal DDB Amsterdam was briefed to create the online platform where fans can engage with the brand through a digital experience that includes a mobile navigated game, product experience and online hub for social media and PR content created through the campaign, entitled ‘the Engine room’. Retail design agency FITCH will bring the Nitrocharge campaign to life at POS with 2D graphic and 3D experiential design.