New adidas campaign captures cricket's inspiration force

Just when you thought that all the possibilities for rapturously celebrating cricket had been exhausted, adidas unleashes a startlingly fresh campaign which pays tribute to the national religion and eulogises cricketers' power to inspire and delight the county. The campaign, shot completely in the beautiful starkness of black and white ” with 16 mm photosonic film camera, at 500 frames per second ” exemplifies the brand's "Impossible is Nothing' philosophy.

The campaign presents facets of cricket that have never been seen before, and encompasses such platforms as TV, print, outdoor, PR, digital, and grassroots events.

Andreas Gellner, the MD of adidas India, has been quoted as saying, "The next 12 months have an unprecedented line-up of global sports events in India, a Champagne Year for Indian sports fans, and this campaign kicks off our marketing blitz." He has said that cricket and football were the two key sports for adidas in India. "We are the No. 1 football brand in the world," he has told the media. "And we are a major force in cricket with our partnerships with some of the leading symbols in the cricket world, like the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Cricket Australia, English Cricket Board, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Virender Sehwag."

As for the campaign, Tushar Goculdas, adidas India's marketing & sales director, has said that the challenge was to harness the inspirational spirit that personified the brand and, at the same time, to foster a strong emotional bond with consumers. "The sheer quantum of cricket-related advertising in India, strangely, made our task simpler since our campaign focuses on the core of the sport, the athlete, rather than the peripherals associated with it," Goculdas has told the media. "Athletes, at all levels, are the driving force of our brand and we strive to partner them in helping them achieve their impossible [goals]." Goculdas has also said that the campaign trains the spotlight on athletes "and depicts the grit, confidence, irreverence and above all the thrill of playing sports."

The rationale of the campaign is as sophisticated as its production values. "adidas wanted to avoid superficial jingoism," Kawal Shoor, the president, planning, Ogilvy India, has been quoted as saying. "adidas attempts to give voice to the budding young Indian cricketer and how he triumphs over daily dilemmas and ordeals on the cricket field with his Impossible is Nothing attitude." Shoor has said that the campaign was meant to inspire people to define their own "Impossible is Nothing' quotient.