Adidas Canada is focusing on how a Team Canada star is knocking over obstacles to success in the women’s game.
In the hero spot, longtime Adidas ambassador and Canadian national team player Ashley Lawrence talks about how she has subverted expectations, eschewing pink bedrooms and desk work to instead achieve a dream some might have called “impossible.”
The campaign is inspired by Lawrence’s journey to becoming a player and incorporates her own words. Her defy-the-odds attitude fits well into Adidas’ “impossible is nothing” brand positioning, says company VP of marketing, Kelly Graham.
“[The spot] is a great way to really build out this personal story with Lawrence,” Graham says, incorporating different, interesting ways to articulate overcoming challenges, symbolically.
Male athletes don’t face nearly the number of challenges, Graham points out. She says the current campaign is a great way to bring its global message to life locally.
Lawrence, a brand partner since 2017, is great strategic brand fit, Graham says, as she founded Yes She Canada, an organization Adidas supports that creates events and initiatives to promote and grow women’s soccer, including by providing equipment and apparel for young girls to encourage play and self-confidence.
The campaign has particular resonance with young women and celebrating the journey of a young female athlete, though Graham says the idea and message of the ad has relevance to all genders.
It’s been an exciting year for women in sport, Graham says, a whirlwind World Championship hockey run in the spring and the first WNBA game in Toronto in May, which has provided a “consistent elevated spotlight.”
People and brands will continue to be invested in women’s sport, Graham claims, and it will continue to remain a pillar for Adidas, she says.
The campaign work, by creative agency Salt XC, includes a “thorough media buy covering multiple channels,” comprised of on-demand TV, linear TV, high impact OOH, and CRM. EssenceMediacom is the media partner, with H+K providing PR support.
“Overall, it’s what we could consider to be the third chapter this year on the ‘Impossible is nothing'” journey and is a “significant spend,” Graham says.
