soccer ball and cleats
Sep 27, 2023

What makes this ad great: Adidas – Play Until They Can’t Look Away

Dayna Lang
Author Dayna Lang

This bold and colorful campaign from Adidas was launched this year to celebrate the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023. 

Play Until They Can’t Look Away impactfully showcases the talent of some of the world’s greatest soccer players. With appearances from Alessia Russo, Lena Oberdorf, and Mary Fowler, this ad gives audiences a small taste of the skill they’ll see in the FIFA tournament. 

This ad celebrates the creativity, power, and accuracy of female sportsmanship, while garnering support from some of the world’s most notable football players from around the world. 

Not only is this ad filled with the stars of this year’s world cup, it also has notable appearances from David Beckham, Leon Goretzka, Ian Wright, and even Lionel Messi. Jenna Ortega, an actress and football fan, also joins in to round-out this ad’s star-studded cast. 

Additionally, by garnering support for FIFA 2023, Adidas grabs the opportunity to show off their sports wear on one of the globe’s biggest stages. 

Adidas highlights success with celebrity appearances 

A secret weapon for many marketing teams is how effective it is to use the familiar faces of celebrities in ads. This is because they lend both credibility and entertainment value to the commercials they star in. 

And this Adidas soccer commercial  is brimming with celebrity appearances – with even a sneaky appearance from Jenna Ortega of Netflix’s Wednesday

These endorsements are particularly powerful as they aren’t as commonly seen in women’s sports, specifically women’s soccer. Women’s soccer has been in the news on and off for the past few years as players fight for equal pay – and equal recognition of their talent. 

By including support from football’s most famous celebs, this ad puts women’s soccer center stage, giving the sport the marketing support it deserves with an engaging and impactful advertisement. 

 

Adidas celebrates FIFA 2023

This commercial feels like an ad for FIFA as much as it feels like an ad for Adidas. This celebration of talent draws in sports fans, bolstering the Women’s World cup in a way that hasn’t been seen before. 

The men’s FIFA tournament is the most watched sport’s event in the world, making the Super Bowl look small in comparison. By borrowing that popularity, Adidas instantly grabs their audience’s attention, directing towards this year’s women’s tournament and, in turn, their sport’s wear. 

 

Eye catching colors steal the show

Like many successful ads, this video has brilliant use of color and music, capturing audiences attention and easily holding it for the ad’s duration. Ads with attractive visuals and audio are an obvious must, but by giving those visuals a bright pop of color, Adidas grabs its audience’s attention and guides their eyes across the screen, from player to player, all the way through until the video’s end. 

Another key factor here is length, the ad is short enough that marketers don’t have to overwork themselves in order to hold their audience’s attention; a good narrative alongside strong visuals is enough. 

This ad has a bold impact through its clever use of visual stimuli, its cast of elite athletes, and it’s joyful celebration of the world’s biggest sport. Sponsorship is a tried and true marketing strategy for sportswear companies, so it makes complete sense that Adidas jumped on the FIFA bandwagon. But what they have done differently is create a celebration of the event, drawing in new audiences that might not otherwise tune into the women’s tournament. 

This ad isn’t any different from any other Adidas ads or commercials that we’ve seen before such that it captivates audiences and provides valuable impact to us like never before.

If you enjoy watching and reading about sports advertising, check out our picks for the best ads during the 2023 NBA finals and the most viewed ads of the 2023 Super Bowl.

To see more from illumin, be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn where we share interesting news and insights from the worlds of ad tech and advertising.

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