Adidas points out the absurdity of the way some sports brands approach the design of their women's products in a new 30-second spot promoting its women's cleats. Debuting this week, the commercial, created by Swift, depicts female soccer players setting fire to a pair of pink shoes.
"We're nothing like men," says soccer player Becky Sauerbrunn, who is an Olympics gold medalist, in the spot. "We don't want their cleats. We want our own."
Released this week, the new ACE and X cleats are Adidas' first for female players, and include new design and tech details, including smaller and shorter studs, that differ from those of their male counterparts, Adidas said in a release. The shoes will be worn by players including Ms. Sauerbrunn, Morgan Brian and Lindsey Horan.
"Unfortunately, women's sports are not often taken seriously, and the equipment reflects that," said James Robinson, creative director at 10-year-old Swift. "The campaign recognizes that female soccer players have been underserved and deserve their own cleats." He noted that Swift's goal was to
"spark young female players to imagine their future with cleats worthy of their individual style and potential."
The spot began running on digital channels including Adidas Football and social media on Wednesday. More campaign content will appear on Adidas Women's channels, while Snapchat ads and geofilters will appear in some stores.
Adidas first began working with Swift last year and has recently partnered with the Portland, Ore.-based agency on an Instagram campaign for James Harden's new signature shoe and Adidas' Pinterest channel for women.
Adidas has been improving its market share in North America in recent months, thanks to rising popularity of its Originals line and fashion-centric shoes. The German company, which reported a 20% rise in sales in the continent for the third quarter, commands about 9% of the U.S athletic footwear market, according to NPD Group. Last month, Adidas appointed Kasper Rorsted chief executive. On Thursday, Adidas plans to open its largest store yet in New York City's Times Square; the 34,000-square-foot site will house a station for customizing shoes, a juice bar and an area to watch sports events.
