Adidas tackles sports sideline pressures with ‘You Got This’ campaign

• Adidas is entering the following phase of its latest global brand campaign with an effort focused on the pressures athletes experience on the sidelines and the individuals who encourage them to beat self-doubt, in response to a press release. 
• A series of latest videos show star athletes including Aitana Bonmatí, Aliyah Boston, Anthony Edwards, Lamine Yamal and Trinity Rodman, in addition to amateurs, as they push through adversity with assistance from mentors who help them consider in themselves. Out-of-home, digital, social media and in-store activations support the film creative.  
• In addition, the sportswear marketer worked with behavioral scientists to develop a Sideline Essentials program promoting positive behaviors that keep people engaged in sport. Research commissioned by Adidas found that 4 in five amateur athletes report encountering unhelpful behavior on the sidelines.

Adidas is constructing on a “You Got This” global brand campaign launched last 12 months with marketing that addresses high-pressure sideline environments and a program that attempts to supply more productive alternatives. The marketer joins others within the sportswear category in taking a better take a look at the mental and physical toll aspiring athletes can experience as they fight to maintain pace and level up their game. Adidas is rolling out the trouble just days after chief rival Nike made a splash during its first Super Bowl appearance in nearly three many years with a spot championing women in sport. 

Adidas’ hero video, “We All Need Someone To Make Us Believe,” depicts a spread of athletes, from swimmers to football players, as they encounter moments of self-doubt and exhaustion, only to be lifted up by an inspiring figure, whether that’s a teammate, member of the family or spotter on the gym. The company will next run a series of movies profiling individual athlete stories, all set to The Velvet Underground’s “I’m Sticking with You.” A roster of high-profile ambassadors feature within the work, including basketball stars Edwards and Boston and soccer prodigy Rodman from the U.S.

Adidas is supporting the content with paid media, including out-of-home promoting, along with digital, social and retail activations. Agency TBWA is behind the extension of “You Got This,” which has a broad aim of alleviating negative pressure in sport. 

Research from Focaldata commissioned by the brand revealed many amateur athletes deal with similar obstacles, corresponding to a surfeit of instructions, immediate negative feedback after games and being avoided when struggling. The Sideline Effect report also identifies more positive behaviors which have been endorsed by sports icons like Edwards and soccer manager Jürgen Klopp. The Sideline Essentials program born out of those insights can be distributed to Adidas partners like Breaking Barriers, the Adidas Football Collective and With Women We Run.

Adidas centering its messaging around uplift stands in contrast to Nike, which has taken on a more defiant, gritty tone since revamping its marketing strategy last 12 months, including through ads that tackle the ruthless attitudes which might be common in elite athletes. Both corporations are wrestling with a fleet of upstart competitors which have challenged a few of their core businesses, though Adidas performed higher than Nike last 12 months, with momentum in global markets like China.