2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

adidas is a brand that pushes people to find their inner athlete no matter if you're at home or you're in transit lugging a 7kg carry-on with a laptop in tow. The adidas Runway is a racetrack found in the world's busiest airports that turned everyday passengers into athletes by placing a racetrack at their point of arrival. The in-transit athletes could scan a QR code and stand a chance to win a pair of customized sneakers from the adidas flagship store depending on their time, of course.

Background

Dubai has the world’s busiest airport. Often, passengers arrive at gate A and must race towards their next flight at gate Z, a kilometre or two away. Without knowing it, this turned everyday passengers into athletes. adidas is a brand that stands precisely for this. adidas needed to connect consumers to its flagship store and hoist the brand as a point of relevance to those outside of the competing arena. For this, the brand had asked for an outdoor campaign at Dubai airport. We thought: why do a regular outdoor campaign?

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Whether to help passengers stretch their legs or make it to a flight, adidas turned everyday passengers into athletes by laying a racetrack in the busiest airport terminal in the world. This was in line with adidas' mission of helping everybody to a ‘betterment journey’ – in this case, rewarding those who take the betterment journey and walk instead of using the travelator. The track offered in-transit athletes the opportunity to scan a QR code and stand a chance to win a pair of customized sneakers from the adidas flagship store depending on their time, of course.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

adidas is a brand that pushes everyday people to find their inner athlete. The brand needed to connect people with their flagship store and gain relevance among the everyday athlete, most of whom weren’t aware they had that inner athlete. The brand wanted to show that no matter what your motivation for running and no matter the place, adidas aims to make the most of your athleticism. The busiest terminal in the world was rife with runners stretching their legs or racing to make their flight. The brand aimed to highlight this and point consumers in the direction of its flagship store. The adidas Runway did precisely this. Whether the passengers were coming home, going on a holiday, wanted to stretch their legs, or simply had a non-refundable ticket, they had a racetrack to run to their goal with the flagship store and their gate being their end destination.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

In Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, adidas covered the ground with a typical running track, inviting passengers to run. Four separate lanes encouraged travelers to race against each other, if necessary. The track was launched during the yearly Dubai Fitness Challenge, in line with the government's initiative to make Dubai the healthiest city in the world. Additionally, in keeping with adidas' key pillar of sustainability, only sustainable materials were used in the production of the track.

List the results (30% of vote)

The activation was not only seen, but directly experienced by more than 5 million passengers passing through Dubai International Terminal 3. We managed to motivate millions passengers to put that little extra spring in their step to get to their gates on time, while registering an uplift in foot traffic at our stores.