While sneakers and politics very rarely make any connection outside of Nike’s use of The Beatles and Gil Scott Heron, adidas took a huge swing at the next generation by connecting with millennials who just suffered through a debate that was basically an ode to the old method of politics in the US. As Clinton and Trump stood on stage post debate, and political pundits talked about fact checking the statements made by the presidential candidates, when the talking heads cut to commercial a video that was created 8 months ago began playing. In my house everyone got quiet and looked. On the screen a pair of NMDs flashed on the screen and a song began, “I’ll never go down your road.”
The song by Daisy is one part Negro Spiritual and one part protest song, and all parts a call to the next movement that they won’t stand for the world that these two politicians are fighting to shape. Below is the video.
The original song is below on Amazon. The amazing thing is the song didn’t exist prior to the marketing campaign. In what represents why adidas has been winning lately they created a song that resonates emotionally with a generation that feels like they are being left a world in turmoil. Can a shoe help make you feel better? Maybe, but it’s the connected feeling of being a part of something that adidas captured in this moment. To run the video after this debate was a crowning moment in advertising for the brand and one of the biggest shots across the marketing machine of Nike I’ve seen out of any brand ever.
