Johannes Leonardo launched a follow-up to its “Supercolor with Pharrell Williams” spot, with a new 60-second ad called “Audience of One” which also features the singer.
Part of the agency’s ongoing campaign celebrating the 45th anniversary of Adidas’ Superstar shoe, the ad, shot in black and white by director Patrick Clair, tackles haters while celebrating self-expression.
“I’m surrounded by opinion,” says Pharrell at the beginning of the spot. The ad also features five emerging talents: rapper Pusha T, Chinese visual artist VJ Mian, Russian actor/director Grigoriy Dobrygin, Japanese jewelry designer Yoon and Mexican illustrator Smith. “Audience of One” celebrates these creators for ignoring their detractors and creating for an “Audience of One” — themselves. It acts as a kick-off for a chain reaction in which each of the five artists in turn chooses five others using the hashtag #OriginalSuperstar on social media (and whose selections will then make five selections of their own, etc.).
The spot’s emphasis on ignoring detractors deflects possible criticism for its artists and the brand, unlike its predecessor, which seemed to beg for it with Pharrell telling viewers “Don’t decide your style based on my style…or anyone else’s” right after losing a copyright infringement suit to the estate of Marvin Gaye.
Johannes Leonardo CD Ferdinando Verderi told AdAge:
“We started the campaign with people that the whole world acknowledges as the ultimate superstars because we needed qualified people to say that a superstar is not what they think it is. Now we want to empower the next generation and show the world there’s a whole new generation of creators.”
Creative Credits:
Client: adidas
Agency: Johannes Leonardo
Chief Creative Officer: Jan Jacobs
Chief Creative Officer: Leo Premutico
Executive Creative Director: Tom Martin
Executive Creative Director: Julian Schreiber
Creative Director: Matthew Edwards
Creative Director: Wes Phelan
Creative Director: Ferdinando Verderi
Senior Account Supervisor: Dominique Dalton
Account Director: Sam McCallum
Account Executive: Gulru Soylu
Head of Production: Cedric Gairard
Print Executive Producer: Maria Perez
Producer: Loretta Rae
Producer: Peisin Yang Lazo
Production Coordinator: Dustin Grant
Designer: Mike Vickers
Designer: Zoonzin Yoonjin Lee
Production Company: Elastic
Director: Patrick Clair
1st Assistant Director: Rick Lange
Director of Photography: Bob Chappell
B Unit Director of Photography: David McFarland
Art Director: Alexander Delgado
Production Supervisor: Laurie Devine
Line Producer: Ron Cosentino
Executive Producer: Jennifer Sofio Hall
Lead Animation & Compositing: Raoul Marks
Designers: Jeff Han, Kevin Heo, Paul Kim
2D Animators: David Do, Peter Murphy, Yongsub Song, Sam Sparks
Head of 3D: Kirk Shintani
3D Artists: Aaron Baker, Joe Chiechi, Jose Limon, Joe Paniagua
Online Artists: Dan Ellis, Kevin Stokes
Flame Assist: Gabe Sanchez
Associate Producer: Danny Hirsch
Producer: Carol Salek, Heather Johann
Color A52
Colorist: Paul Yacono
Color Assistants: Chris Riley, Erik Rojas
Color Producer: Anna Vegezzi
Editorial LA: Rock Paper Scissors LA
Editor: Damion Clayton
Assistant Editor: Alexa Vallejo
Producer: Jared Thomas, Shada Shariatzadeh, Ashley Bartell
Executive Producer: Angela Dorian
Editorial NY: Rock Paper Scissors NY
Editor: Dan deWinter
Assistant Editor: Michael Shugarman
Producer: Jenny Greenfield
Executive Producer: Eve Kornblum
Sound Design: Q Department
Sound Mix: Sonic Union
Audio post mixer: Steve Rosen