Creative > Ad of the Day

Ad of the Day

Adidas "Haile"

Brand: Adidas Athletic Footwear
Agency: Riot (180\TBWA\Critical Mass)
Review Date: August 25, 2009

Ethiopian marathon runner Haile Gebrselassie and American sprinter Tyson Gay go neck and neck in an Adidas spot that offers an interesting insight into the running men and their best performances. Set to appear next month on www.adidas.com/running , the spot, one of several in the digital campaign  “Super 7” that showcases track and field stars, shows the two men racing while onscreen copy reveals that Gebrselassie can “almost” match Gay’s 200-meter time even after running 9,800 meters. The fact highlighted is based on Gebrselassie’s performance at the Sydney Olympic Games nine years ago, and the graphic treatment and rolling percussive track keeps it playful. Though he fails to overtake Gay, Gebrselassie’s a sport, celebrating and smiling so much when he crosses the finish line, it’s almost as if he’s won. No matter, the running enthusiasts this ad is targeting will value the significance of the pairing, even if the random viewer doesn't. --Eleftheria Parpis

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Overall rating:
(2.4 ) Poor

10 Comments
  • 1. Sivu Nobo comments:
    August 28, 2009

    Very interesting to know, but bottom of the page fine print boring.


  • 2. Toby comments:
    August 27, 2009

    Interesting idea that was poorly executed. Could have been really great if they hired a talented director.


  • 3. MacLin comments:
    August 27, 2009

    It is nice to see the ethiopian long distance runner who had a 28 world record holder and who had millions of funs in the western world in the ads of Adidas. That is really good for adidas


  • 4. Boring comments:
    August 26, 2009

    Can you say flat, boring and flat?


  • 5. RS comments:
    August 26, 2009

    It also got ad of the day on Shots? Hmm? According to the news story they only had an hour with each of the 7 athletes to shoot the online films. Not bad in that case. The Veronica and Tyson films are pretty cool.


  • 6. TG comments:
    August 26, 2009

    Brilliant idea


  • 7. What happened? comments:
    August 25, 2009

    I remember when Adidas advertising used to be good. It was inspiring and energized. The company has lost its mojo. They would be better off just putting the money into events and athletes.


  • 8. Poor idea and execution comments:
    August 25, 2009

    The spot feels like it's straight out of Nike 1980 and not in a positive way.


  • 9. Ed comments:
    August 25, 2009

    Great. Love the 3rd Word Beat, which makes this feel more like a video and not so much like an ad. Always a good thing.


  • 10. yyzbrian comments:
    August 25, 2009

    It feels a bit anti-climactic and forced. Would anyone expect the long-distance runner to beat the sprinter in this contrivance? And the long-distance runner, in this case, did not run the first 9800 meters. The question is, why not? Would have made for a better ad.


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