Three is the magic number in the new adidas Originals brand campaign, titled ‘We Gave the World an Original. You Gave Us a Thousand Back’. The number is a recurring motif throughout the branding, while the new platform celebrates the mix of sports stars and everyday people who have helped build the brand.

The films at the heart of the campaign zero in on three of the brand’s iconic trainer styles, Samba, Gazelle, and Superstar, the names of which loosely set the tone for each of the expertly soundtracked films.

Directed by Will Dohrn, Gazelle navigates the speed of everyday life through the ages, while Samba, directed by Justyna Obasi, turns even the most insignificant of movements into a dance. Finally, Superstar, directed by Daniel Wolfe, showcases the brand’s associations with sporting greats.

A set of still campaign visuals featuring stars associated with the brand, photographed by Chadwick Tyler, has also been designed based on triptychs.

The campaign coincides with subtle adjustments to the branding. The adidas trefoil – a rounded leaf-like design – was introduced in 1972, when the brand started to branch out from selling just sports shoes, and has been the symbol for adidas Originals since 2000.

The logo has now been tweaked slightly so the brand name has been removed from the lock-up, leaving the trefoil symbol to stand on its own, and a new brand typeface has also been introduced.

Just as Levi’s did recently with its 501s campaign, the adidas Originals campaign cleverly positions the brand as a long-standing pillar of culture while paying homage to the people who have made it their own.

Credits:
Creative Agency: Johannes Leonardo
Production: Lovesong with support from Monkey Films
Directors: Daniel Wolfe, Justyna Obasi, Will Dhorn
Photography: Chadwick Tyler
Production Designer: Andrew Clark