TBWA\London

Client: adidas
Product: Fashion/Sport
Title: The Official Leak of the adidas World Cup Kits
Media: Social
Country: United Kingdom
Date Of Campaign: 01/06/2022

Background: The brief: Launch adidas’ 2022 World Cup kits, driving hype (measured via search and online mentions) and selling shirts (.com visits) in the lead up to the tournament.Targeting Gen Z, we needed to understand their relationship with football in order to unlock an idea that resonated with who they are. We looked beyond just football, and found that this mindset applied to their entire outlook on life. They don’t see themselves as patriotic but rather ‘Gen Z first, national identity second’.As Gen Z don't respond to a "traditional" shirt launch, we had to position our campaign in a culturally engaging way, which Gen Z understands, responds and reacts to, via our leaks.

Idea: Gen Z aren’t like other football fans. They don’t follow the rules set by generations before them. So for the 2022 World Cup, we ripped up the rulebook and used the global stage as a place to set Gen Z’s identities free.Instead of launching, we leaked adidas’ World Cup kits. Giving them to real fans and hiding them in the places Gen Z hangout. Talent from each nation either wore their team’s shirt or featured it in their content to be discovered.Argentina: @martindardik had his hair cut by the national team’s barber, who happened to be wearing the away shirt.Japan: The kits appeared in two of the nation’s biggest manga comics. With the first leak coming from the artist, then by fans who found the comics on bookshelves.Belgium: At Tomorrowland, @dimitrivegas rocked the away shirt on the main stage. Fans shared it across their channels to ask ‘What shirt’s this?!’Spain: @DjMaRiiO and @TheGrefg, wore both shirts as they went head to head on FIFA22 over Twitch.Mexico: The taquero of @larutadelagarnacha’s favourite taqueria wore the away shirt on a day the vlogger routinely stopped by.Germany: On TikTok, @pajel.46 shared footage recording his new track where he was wearing the new home shirt.

Results: - 6.13 million impressions with no paid media support.- 347,000+ social media reactions.- We grew adidas’ search by 13%, making it 1.7X the search volume than Nike- On social, adidas garnered 7.6X more social mentions than Nike - a huge feat considering we had only half of the teams qualify for the tournament.But the best results were the genuine reactions from football fans, everywhere. Not just about the kit designs, but about the way the kits were released. Fans appreciated the down-to-earth approach, showing that adidas was on their level.