What Makes Adidas & Anthony Edwards So Great?

This will be my last, but most important commentary on this amazing campaign…

What is it that makes the Adidas and Anthony Edwards campaign so great?
As a former brand director at Nike Basketball, it was very hard for me to admit that this is the best campaign I've seen in years. 
But, it's been a year since I've admitted that and their campaigns continue to get better. This most recent one with the lie detector test is perhaps their best yet.

And I'll tell you the three things I think that make this so great...the first two you can replicate, the third? Much more rare.

1. Creative Treatment

The large infinity, extending set is incredible. It speaks to Anthony Edwards’ home state of Georgia (the peach) and it doesn't feel like anything we've seen before. The lie detector is another great creative touch.

2. It’s Not Pushy

They don't try to sell you the sneakers through all of the features and benefits. So many companies, myself included, have been pushed to try to drive sales. You really want to try to tell people how great this shoe is, but the best campaigns at big companies like Adidas let the product breathe.

3. Charisma

Last but certainly not least…The one that cannot be replicated is charisma and Anthony Edwards has charisma in spades. Too many companies try to hand over a script to athletes and Adidas' best move here is making room for Anthony Edwards’s charisma to shine through.
Harnessing this charisma is SO Hard.
Last night, I saw USAA stripping Rob Gronkowski of all his charisma in this scripted commerical.
If you’re able to work with an athlete or entertainer who has charisma, give them space to show it. If you script and structure it out, you’ve lost the asset.

Education & Resources:
If you want some more behind-the-scenes stuff, tap into my broadcast channel where we have the director, Onda, of the AE1 campaigns give you some nuggets about this greatness.

The Best Example of Branded Content out there right now is my guys at Manors Golf.
They do the best content in golf, and they’ve evolved it to YouTube this last month. It’s beautiful.

On a completely other side of the coin: here is the next generation of youth creators doing brand deals. If Christopher Nolan had an iPhone & a WILD sense of humor while in film school, this is what he would create.
27M views for Tostino’s Pizza Rolls. They’ve done several of these, all getting insane #s.
Buckle up.

@tik_tok_bhadie

SELF CARE🫂 / @Jericho Mencke @Alejandro @Totino’s Pizza Rolls #ad

Blessings:
Election season has come to an end, but the political climate is challenging on both sides.
Here’s a Podcast discussing the science of Unhappiness and our relationship to Politics. It helped set the foundation for my new, much healthier, relationship with these matters.