2022 Winners & Shortlists

Cultural / Context information for the jury

32% of women in the world don’t feel comfortable swimming in public. In the Middle East, that number rises to 88%. Because conventional swimwear is not made with them in mind. Resulting in fewer women wanting to pursue aquatic sports every year. Being raised in a society where swimming isn’t widely accepted as appropriate for women, they lack the motivation to step into water. In addition, being surrounded by ads with models and professional athletes has further deteriorated their body confidence

Write a short summary of what happens in the digital or ambient execution or campaign.

To inspire all women in MENA to feel confident in water, adidas challenged sociocultural barriers preventing them from embracing water and turned water into a symbol of freedom instead, by creating the Liquid Billboard. The world’s first swimmable billboard. Made to encourage every woman in Dubai to become ambassadors of adidas’s new inclusive swimwear collection, irrespective of their shapes, ethnicities, abilities or religion. By physically diving in, each woman became part of the global conversation. The 5-meter high and 3-meter deep that doubles as a fully usable swimming pool capable of holding 11500 gallons of water, was built in less than three weeks. The structure was fitted with special underwater cameras that transformed every woman’s experience into personalized adidas posters, and live-streamed every dive on the city’s largest digital display at Dubai Mall. Women who’ve only seen athletes and models on billboards, saw themselves celebrated the same way.