ADIDAS
Impossible Is Nothing
Agency: 180 Amsterdam
Creative director:
Sean Thompson
The Adidas Impossible Is Nothing campaign from 180 Amsterdam is
where advertising meets celebrity art. This campaign struck on the
idea of asking sports stars to tell ‘impossible’ personal stories through
drawing. The resulting 30 stories powerfully described defining
moments in the lives of athletes, including David Beckham, All Blacks
rugby legend Jonah Lomu and US basketball star Gilbert Arenas.
The campaign’s creative director at 180 Amsterdam, Sean Thompson,
explains how the process of drawing enabled each personality to
open up, so that once they had shot the athletes and their work, the
campaign found its own momentum.
“We had all the paintings and loads of content and, using all this, we
went to town with different projects and different platforms – an online
gallery, documentaries – when it started to get really interesting was
with a travelling global exhibition.”
A 264-page hardback book of the artwork gave yet another platform.
The exhibition and the campaign culminated in an auction of the
artwork by Sotheby’s at the Beijing Olympics.
“This idea actually created something while it communicated,” says
John Patroulis creative director at T.A.G., San Francisco. “And what it
created wasn’t flashy or slick – it was just simple, approachable,
expressive drawings that really felt different for the sports category at
the time. It was more like an expression of the athletes themselves
rather than an endorsement.”
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