adidas on Thursday unveiled its marketing campaign to promote Bulls G Derrick Rose's signature shoe, the adiZero Rose 2. A 60-second spot, entitled "
The Bull," was directed by Stacy Wall and created by 180LA. The spot, which was filmed in Madrid, debuted on Thursday on YouTube and will begin television rotation Oct. 5 on ESPN and Cartoon Network, and during NFL broadcasts on CBS, NBC and ESPN. The campaign also includes print, online and mobile activation (
adidas). MEDIAPOST’s Aaron Bar noted plans for the shoe's debut were “made well in advance of the current lockout, although the marketing strategy around it has always been to focus on Rose and his status as a top player recognized around the world.” adidas Global Dir of Brand Marketing Ryan Morlan said, "We wanted to tell a story of Derrick Rose and ... get you excited about him regardless of where he plays and when he plays." The commercial's online debut “began through the company's Facebook page, where fans could view the commercial first before Liking it.” Morlan said that “at 100,000 Likes (a mark hit after only 16 hours), the spot was made available to the general public” (
MEDIAPOST.com, 9/29).
GET A GRIP: In N.Y., Howard Beck notes Heat G Dwyane Wade, who signed a new sponsorship deal with Mission Athletecare’s Court Grip, helped “design the applicator, which looks like a cross between roll-on deodorant and shoe polish.” The company “has a licensing arrangement with the NBA and intends to have Court Grip available in every arena this season (providing, of course, there is one).” It will be “up to individual trainers and players to decide whether to use it.” Company execs are also “trying to attract college programs.” Athletecare is “challenging the virtual monopoly of another company, Slipp-Nott, whose sticky yellow pads have been a staple of NBA sidelines for more than a decade” (N.Y. TIMES, 9/30). Bloomberg TV’s Michele Steele said of Wade, “New endorsements allow him to put off playing overseas for now, a option he tells me is still open” (“In the Loop,” Bloomberg TV, 9/29).
STEPPING IT UP: In Portland, Allan Brettman writes under the header, “Nike And Adidas Prepare For Basketball Season Without An NBA.” Brettman wonders “how much difference it will make to shoe and apparel makers if there's no NBA showcase for their products.” Both Nike and adidas “have ended a summer in which their star athletes have passports splattered with port-of-entry stamps.” Nike endorsers Wade, Heat F LeBron James, Lakers G Kobe Bryant, Thunder F Kevin Durant, Knicks F Carmelo Anthony and Jordan Brand endorser Hornets G Chris Paul all “have made trips to China.” Meanwhile, Rose also visited China and fellow adidas endorser Magic C Dwight Howard “visited Europe, including a stop at the corporation's headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany.” SportsOneSource footwear analyst Matt Powell said in the event of a more extended lockout, "What you're going to see in a proactive way is more guerilla marketing around the basketball category." The shoe brands will “need to present their products in venues other than commercial breaks on NBA games.” For adidas, that will mean “finding spots on NFL broadcasts to showcase its commercial, ‘The Bull.’” Nike will “outfit select college teams in the next signature shoe for LeBron James, the LeBron 9,” and the universities that will wear the shoe “will be unveiled Oct. 14.” Powell and The NPD Group chief industry analyst Marshal Cohen agreed that “apparel sales will be hammered by a lockout of almost any duration, a prediction that would be especially damaging to Adidas -- the league's official apparel provider.” Powell said that consumers can “look for 50 percent fewer sales of jerseys and other paraphernalia for the duration of the lockout” (THE OREGONIAN, 9/30).
