Adidas Case Study

Adidas and London 2012

In late 2007 adidas was unveiled as a 'Tier One' sponsor for the London 2012 Olympics. Attracted by what London 2012 stood for and wanting to make the most of the relationship, adidas asked Wolff Olins to help align its brand 'impossible is nothing' to the London 2012 brand. adidas also wanted Wolff Olins to help show that it was the best placed sportswear company to supply all athletes of both London 2012's Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Turning cities into arenas

By bringing the two brand ideas together, 'impossible is nothing' and 'Everyone's Olympics', Wolff Olins created the idea of 'Everyday sport' taking sport off the pedestal and onto the street. On 20 September 2007, adidas used landmarks across London as the backdrop for urban intervention, turning the city into a sporting arena. Tyson Gay ran the 100m across the Millennium Bridge, athletes pole vaulted London buses in Horse Guards Parade and Olympic bronze medalist Louis Smith delivered a perfect display on the rings suspended from Marble Arch.

Generating 20% of revenue

'Urban intervention' generated significant attention from the global press, promoting the adidas brand not only as an Olympic sponsor but also as the brand synonymous with the sportswear of the Team GB. At its flagship store in Oxford Circus London 2012 merchandise is already on sale, with the range covering five per cent of floor space but already accounting for 20 per cent of the turnover of the store. adidas has continued to build on the ideas of Wolff Olins by launching five giant multi-sport outdoor venues called 'adiZones', which will be free for the community.