adidas Originals

Following its raucous “House Party” in 2009, Sid Lee wanted Originals to be even more engaged with its worldwide consumers, and get them to see that it’s not just a heritage brand – that it fits with their street lifestyles.

The goal was to deliver on “Celebrate Originality” by driving the brand back to where consumers could connect with it: the street, which became the backdrop to all Originals communications in 2010. It’s the sum of its parts that makes Originals so original – sticking to an overarching story (the street) that breaks into many sub-stories (for example, Star Wars).

In January, the campaign was kicked off with a web video for the Originals’ Star Wars collection. It mixed elements from the neighborhood with those of a galaxy far, far away, and was accompanied by the “Death Star Application,” a Facebook and Google Earth-fuelled app that shows clips of the Dark Side obliterating your neighbourhood.

At the beginning of February, Snoop Dogg led an “Imperial March” down the streets of New York followed by a trail of Storm Troopers.

Also, unique AR codes were printed on the tongues of the five-shoe collection, which opened up a virtual neighborhood with interactive games.

In March, the party hit London with “The Street Where Originality Lives” web video, hosting celebs like David Beckham, Ciara, Snoop Dogg and Jeremy Scott. To stay global, the video featured stars from around the world, including Hyori Lee (South Korea) and Cheer Chen (Taiwan). Big-time bloggers like Hypebeast and HighSnobiety were also invited.

Adidas also showed off its style with a women’s lookbook, using the same models that appeared in the “Street” video, including Tallulah Morton and Agyness Deyn.

To celebrate World Cup fever in June, Originals released the Cantina video. Recycling original footage from Star Wars, Sid Lee spliced celebs from the “Street” video into the intergalactic speakeasy.

And the results? “The Street Where Originality Lives” video has nearly two million Youtube views, while the Cantina video has nearly four million. Originals became the most followed fashion brand on Facebook, with three million fans. Research confirms a shift in perceptions of Originals, with consumers seeing it as a more modern lifestyle brand.