In a shift from the dramatic imagery we have seen in adidas’ “Impossible is Nothing” campaign, TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco, has created five simple Web films for the client’s ClimaCool Cyclone athletic shoe. On adidas.com/whatsnext, visitors can click on the image of a yellow show to access a microsite where the films “Ice,” “Koozie,” “Fish,” “Boxer” and “Toothache” live.
In all of the films, the yellow Cyclone is used as ice, and austere settings keep the focus on the shoe. The languorous action is set against a vibrant, rich orange background meant to feel warm. In the straightforward “Toothache” an adolescent boy sits in a dentist’s waiting room with the shoe bandaged to his swollen cheek.
The Cyclone is used again to soothe an aching face in “Boxer.” Here a battered boxer lumbers to the corner of a ring and two men come to his aid. One man tends to his mental state advising the athlete, though we can’t hear what he’s saying, and the other attends to his physical needs. The latter gives the beaten man water while, the former places the sole of the yellow shoe against his swollen eye.
The hits become more playful in “Fish” where two women outfitted with hairnets and masks rhythmically slap each other with large, whole fish. In the foreground, a man carefully packs fresh fish into a cooler with a couple of pairs of shoes to keep them cold.
In “Ice,” a Cyclone shoe keeps a drink cold and offers relief on a hot day. The action centers on a woman bringing a pitcher of cold water to a lethargic man sitting on a porch. In his “front yard” there is a burning cactus and slithering snake. As the woman pours the beverage, the large shoe successfully makes it from the vessel into the glass. Then he blows her a kiss.
Featuring the most unusual characters is “Koozie.” Here, two men dressed in identical outfits–cutoff blue-jean shorts, camouflage t-shirts, yellow track jackets and white sweatbands–play with a tabletop racetrack using their shoes as holders for canned beverages.
The work is dialogue free with music driving the action. The bits of music are pulled from a piece that independent artist Jeff Derringer, who plays with musicians referred to as Hired Goons, wrote for the films.
“Everyone fell in love with this piece of music,” senior agency producer Joe Calabrese said. “Whoever we showed it to all across the agency, outside of the agency, everyone said, ‘Wow…that music is amazing. What is that? Who is that?’ And so you didn’t need little sounds coming in. We had some dialogue in the ‘Boxer’ spot, but you just didn’t need it, the music was such a star we wanted it to shine.” Fans of the music can download it as an mp3 file from the site.
Comfort Levels
According to Calabrese, the client asked for a few Web films for this shoe and no television spots. Geared toward a younger audience, the client wanted work that would be light and fun.
With a shoestring budget, the creatives needed a comedic idea that could be done in one day of shooting, would feel like a big idea and would have high production value. “Adidas is used to things that are a little more visual, a little more serious, so this was a nice chance to do something different,” Calabrese shared.
Brian Hughes shot the work on a set in Toronto. He added touches like the orange environment that conveys a sense of heat, as well as the kiss and the snake in “Ice.”
On why Hughes was the right helmer for the job, Calabrese explained, “He just had the right sensibility because he’s a little bit unique and we wanted these spots to be a little bit strange and a little weird and as soon as we spoke to him we knew he was the right guy for it.” Since Hughes used to work at the agency as an art director, there was also a built-in rapport with him, Calabrese noted.
“He had a great impact, he is really collaborative,” Calabrese said of the director. “He’s really amicable and he doesn’t bring an ego to the project. It was also that we were friends with him so we were able to just have a really intelligent conversation about how to shape these, right from the beginning, and we were very open to his suggestions.”
The ClimaCool films are part of the adidas “What’s Next” innovation story, which is primarily an online initiative revolving around adidas’ technologically advanced products, account manager, Scott Nelson explained.
The agency has used e-mail blasts to drive traffic to these films, but no television or print ads.
