The World Cup is obviously a big deal for sportswear companies, but like all large sporting events there are opportunities for small businesses to capitalize. The problem is most small, family owned business very rarely get to experience the windfall produced by major sporting events. adidas took the time to make sure that wasn’t the case when preparing to launch the biggest commercial spot they’ve done for an adidas campaign.
The brand made a special effort to utilize a small family run business that’s only a few years old. That business is Hollywood Mirrors: https://www.hollywoodmirrors.co.uk While this isn’t a sneaker post, it shows the reach of sports brands and their ability to build up small companies that often are overlooked and lost in the mix when it comes to the big dollars associated with marketing for footwear companies.
I had a chance to rap with Adam Watson the CEO of the family owned Hollywood Mirrors about how they came to work with the Three Stripes on the huge Create the Answer video, the interview is below.
Q: How did adidas choose your company?
A: Yes, so back in January we got a phone call from Adidas asking if we had 8 of our big illuminated mirrors in stock, luckily we did and they then paid for them on the phone and arranged for a van to collect them the next day from our warehouse. It was unusual as we are online only and usually deliver the products ourselves to the customer but they insisted they collect them. They said it was for their World Cup advert I thought they just wanted them for backstage to get their stars ready before filming. To my shock when I saw the advert, the mirrors feature quite a few times in it and are very prominent.
Q: Who came up with the ad and the scene utilizing your product?
A: The advert was filmed in Manchester by a production team of over 250 people and produced by an agency called 72 and Sunny. It has 56 sponsored Adidas stars in it and over 100 extras so it is a huge production for a 90-second video. It has been an honour to have our products in the ad for what is probably one of the most expensive adverts ever produced.
Q: How long have you been in business?
A: We opened in August 2016 so we are still a young business; it is a massive thing for us to have our product in the advert.
Q: Have you worked with adidas on any other campaigns?
A: No this is our first time, we have had some small events and productions we have supplied for but nothing as big as this.
Q: I know that size? is a big sneaker shop there. Have you worked with any of the sneaker boutiques in London?
A: Not yet, but we would love to (hint hint). I love footwear it is one of my passions I have 20 pairs of shoes not as big as some people’s collections but probably too many if that is possible. We have supplied makeup departments such as Harvey Nichols, theatre dressing rooms and makeup events. Getting more commercial business is our goal for the future hopefully this Adidas advert is a big stepping stone for this.
Q: How was it working with the brand?
A: They were great to deal with, highly organised. The deal was done quickly, paid up front and they came to collect the product. It could not have gone smoother. Professional, efficient and they knew what they wanted. You can tell the people Adidas employ are high calibre A players.
Q: How many employees do you have?
A: We have four employees. We are a family business: a mother and son team and we have 2 excellent staff: Kirsty in customer services and Molly who keeps all our systems running smoothly.
Q: Did adidas set out to use local business?
A: We are 40 miles down the road from where it was shot in Manchester and Adidas’ head office in London placed the order. So locality could have been a factor they chose us, but I like to think we just had the right products for the setting.
At a time where small businesses are facing challenges it’s inspiring to see a billion dollar brand, connected to a multitude of stars who probably had companies that they’ve worked with who could have provided this service, connect with a locally owned small business. Kudos to the Three Stripes and congrats to Adam and the crew at Hollywood Mirrors UK.
