This week in sports advertising, Vans highlights women skaters, Carling and Havas London share how sports unite a community, and Adidas celebrates 25 Years of Predator, their most iconic boot, with David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane.
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1. Foot Locker — We See Things Differently
Agency: BBDO NY
Athlete / Influencer: Lance Stephenson
Foot Locker and BBDO NY got creative for this spot which dives into the mind of a sneakerhead and how they view the biggest highlights in basketball. Basketball shoes have evolved into a culture of their own, meaning big business for innovative brands like Foot Locker.
At first, it looks like most other sneaker ads, with shoes squeaking on the hardwood and a ball being dribbled. What happens next is pure genius. There’s no player, just sneakers and the ball going up for the dunk. As Foot Locker, Lance Stephenson and sneakerheads see it, the shoes are just as important as the player rocking them.
2. Adidas Football — 25 Years of Football
Agency: Iris
Athlete / Influencer: David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane
Speaking of footwear, Adidas created this spot, “25 Years of Predator,” to commemorate exactly that—25 years of their most famous boot. No better way to celebrate than to have two icons who laced up the Predator, David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane, hand them out to the next generation of deserving footballers.
Adidas and Iris creatively integrated user-generated content into a highlight reel of football’s finest to help the former legends dish out limited edition recreations of the boots they made famous.
3. Activision — The Replacer Did It
Agency: 72andSunny
Athlete / Influencer: Dr DisRespect
Activision partnered with 72andSunny to create this spot for the release of their newest set of downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which includes the incredibly popular battle royale mode.
For an announcement of this stature, Activision went out and got one of the biggest streamers out there: Dr DisRespect (we aren’t even kidding, the guy is 6’8”.) The real star of the comedic spot though is The Replacer, who makes his return in this Call of Duty ad campaign. Ironically, he isn’t exactly the best man for the job.
4. Vans — This is Off the Wall
Athlete / Influencer: Lizzie Armanto, Yndiara Asp, Mami Tezuka and Brighton Zeuner
Vans kicked off their new “This is Off the Walls” campaign with this spot, “Vanguards,” which shares the stories of four female skateboarders who express themselves through creativity and a flair for being unique.
Vanguards continue to impart Vans’ commitment to supporting the community of female skaters, hosting a brand-new series of women’s skate workshops across the globe beginning on International Women’s Day.
5. Carling — Made Local
Agency: Havas London
Burton-upon-Trent may seem like a rather quiet and unremarkable town in the United Kingdom, but it is quite the opposite. The “Made Local” campaign from Carling shares stories of people who put differences aside and celebrate what it means to make an impact on their community—no matter their beliefs.
This spot introduces Black Country Fusion FC, a team that’s all about inclusion—irrespective of race, religion and sexual orientation. The team’s strong ethos of equality in sport has helped them become one of the most successful amateur teams in their region. Carling shares more of the team’s story in this long-form documentary.
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