Opportunity
adidas’s “made Originals” campaign demanded a finale that would be both a relevant cultural moment and a celebration of the brand’s heritage. Centered in London, the city needed to permeate the experience.
tms set out to create a FW 23/24 kit launch campaign for the adidas-sponsored Juventus Football club. Long hailed the “Bianconeri” for the club’s black and white striped uniforms, we saw an opportunity to bring this strong visual motif to life with a film and campaign photography that honored and celebrated the club’s rich Italian heritage and loyal fanbase – dubbed the “heard”.
Capitalizing on the untapped potential of club kits as cultural and streetwear icons, we collaborated with adidas to make this vision come to life.
tms used renowned Italian imagery as a creative starting point, merging references such as Paolo Sorrentino’s surrealist film, The Great Beauty, with Juventus’ core values and design hallmarks. The iconic Bianconeri stripes are a thread that runs throughout the video and photography, establishing a clear, captivating, and unique visual identity for the brand, setting it apart from competitors. This elevated presentation of the FW 23/24 kit was an expression of the club’s individuality to inspire positive sentiment, create hype, galvanize fans, and ultimately boost adidas sales.
Leading the creative direction and production, tms provided Bianconceri fans with an immersive tour of Villa Perosa, just a 25-minute drive from the football club’s training grounds in Italy. Directed by Theodore Guelat and photographed by Dali Geralli, the campaign cast Juventus players, legends, and fans in unexpecting roles, featuring stars like Alessandro Del Piero, Danilo, Lisa Boattin, Kenan Yildiz, Dean Huijsen.
While the campaign is inspired by classic Italian surrealism, we balanced this with modern techniques such as 3D scanning techniques and aerial views of the estate. The zebra print is featured throughout, from the top hats, interiors, and jerseys to an actual horse dressed as a zebra. The end scene pans out to a portrait of the Juventus “family” featured in the film, symbolizing the power of the Juventus fandom and demonstrating that success is built off years of teamwork between the club and its fans.
tms creates an iconic film and photography steeped in Juventus’s club’s history to launch the new 23/24 season football kits with adidas. From creative direction to production, the core values and attributes of the Juventus family are brought to life.
The film and photography, released on August 19th, capitalizes on the untapped potential of club kits as cultural and streetwear icons and highlights Juventus as more than just a team; they are the herd of the Zebra stripes. tms was responsible for strategizing an elevated story focused on a concept that feels uniquely Juventus while recognising fans.
The key pillars of the strategy were to drive hype and sales, activate positive sentiment and express the club’s individuality while elevating the jersey details in a modern and emotional way.
Set at Villa Perosa 25 mins from the training ground, Juventus players, legends and youth team, including Alessandro Del Piero, Danilo, Lisa Boattin, Kenan Yildiz, Dean Huijsen and Bianconeri characters, play unexpected roles.
The all-seeing cameras reveal our characters doing surprising things in the optimistic rebellious film; the scenes are full of Juventus insights with a surreal twist to engage with every Bianconeri fan. To balance out the classical feeling of the film, we incorporated a 3D scan technique to create an unexpected turn to the tale as we retrace the journey back through the villa from a different perspective. We then take the viewer up to the sky to see the house from above before zooming back in at lightening speed to reveal the special house guest we’ve been tracking all along. The famous Jay Mascotti!
Directed by Theodor Guelat and photographed by Dali Geralli, the film and photography look and feel express an exaggerated and surreal vision with an Italian touch. Featuring a variety of activities occurring in different rooms of the villa, with the iconic Zebra stripes appearing throughout each scene, emphasizing the Juventus team identity.
Working with an Italian icon like Juventus was a dream for the team, who grew up watching Gazzetta Football Italia in the 90’s… once Del Piero’s name was mentioned we pulled out all the stops to elevate the story of the new home jersey with this bold and fun film”.
tms created Outside Pace a running series to build running credibility for adidas within key running communities. A series that challenges runners to do more than simply judge their pace. To take them outside of their expectations, to disrupt the norms, and open the aperture of running, to bring together a movement.
The first of the series, adidas Outside Pace 001 with Pro:Direct took running communities outside of known roads into new horizons. On July 12th, 18 runners from crews throughout the UK were immersed on a full day with Adizero hosted by adidas partners and pro athletes who imparted their wisdom on speed, training, nutrition, and recovery.
After breakfast and a product handout in Manchester UK, the participants were driven to the iconic Ladybower Dam to kick off a 16km run direct to our off-grid base in Peak District National Park – with adidas running captain Ayo D leading the run, keeping the vibes and spirits high while offering advice and assistance.
At Edale, they were greeted with a recovery drink and a communal lunch hosted by British Olympic athlete Laviai Nielsen, which focused on the benefits of micronutrients in recovery. A brand engagement session with adidas product experts followed, which included a sneak peek at an upcoming product drop as well as a recovery session hosted by British Triathlete Alistair Brownlee.
The day was capped by a cold-water plunge and guests took home a personalized, hand-finished zine which included photography captured from the day.
‘Outside Pace 001’ delivered a truly next-level community-led experience giving unfiltered access to talent, products, and expert advice to demonstrate the best of adidas running. It highlighted the strength of having an agency team based in the north and south of England, tapping into talent, communities, and local landscapes to create a standout experience for our runners and partners.
adidas’s “made Originals” campaign demanded a finale that would be both a relevant cultural moment and a celebration of the brand’s heritage. Centered in London, the city needed to permeate the experience.
tms set out to create an experience that would fully immerse adidas’s community in a brand world that was more than just a party. We mashed up the past and present by paying homage to iconic brand moments while partnering with local communities to show what “made Originals” means to them and to provide an authentic voice that resonates with Gen Z consumers.
Taking over subterranean West London venue Ambika P3, tms transformed the space with a bespoke creative identity that celebrated the city’s aesthetic and vibe. The whole event was live streamed on TikTok, allowing the public to browse and purchase classic products. Working alongside key brand partners, Blondey McCoy and Gary Aspden, we conceptualized and brought to life a host of immersive experiences. These included exclusive product drops, customization workshops, skate demos, interactive gaming, digital competitions, and previously unseen archival exhibitions. Visitors were also transported to a digital representation of the “made Originals” world through a personalized 3D avatar and an exclusive FORTNITE world — playable alongside London gaming collective Black Girl Gamers. The two-day events came to an energetic close with performances from established British rapper slowthai, DJ collective GirlsDon’tSync, and South London rapper Che Lingo. We used the adidas CONFIRMED app as a digital “host” for the event, delivering hyper-local push notifications to inform attendees of what was happening, offer exclusive product raffles within the space, and manage all ticketing, and communicate pre/post event.
The team created a jaw-dropping experience giving Gen Z London the ultimate immersion into the world of ‘made Originals.’ adidas has played such an important role in shaping London subcultures around fashion, music, and sports. It was a privilege to reflect on this heritage and look to the future by collaborating with creators at the forefront of their communities.
On June 27, 2023, Manchester United Football Club released their home shirt for the coming season.
Our role was to concept, shoot and rollout a toolkit of assets that enable adidas and Manchester United to launch their 23/24 Home, Away and Third kits. This included developing key visuals, social crops as well as moving image content to help bring to life the persona of each kit.
We were briefed to highlight the kit design featuring the Manchester red rose in a geometric pattern, inspired by the bridge between Manchester and Salford that was built during the industrial revolution. The shirt needed a killer PR shot to grab attention globally. Marcus Rashford recreating an iconic Allen Iverson shot, surrounded by roses delivered that and more.
This project massively highlights the importance of true collaboration between brand, club and creative and proves that it truly takes a village to launch a jersey for one of the worlds iconic clubs.
We’re pleased to play our part in the launch of the FW23 adidas x Manchester United kits here at tms. The collaboration with the club and brand, resulted in a diverse body of work that we’re proud of. It’s always satisfying to see a mood board come to life, especially when it sparks debate.
On the 23rd of February adidas X ASOS celebrated the relaunch of ‘The Rivalry’, an archival 1980s basketball sneaker range.
The launch of Rivalry aims to bring the history of the OG to the modern generation of sneakerheads and style amplifiers who share the same passion for the brand. The focus — to reconnect these court floor classics with Gen Z — whilst supporting the positioning with the purists, the curators of culture.
tms hosted Gen Z influencers and content creators at Kachette in the heart of Shoreditch, London. Guests were welcomed into a deconstructed basketball court space to experience the best of the late 80s adidas basketball archive. Brand products and floral displays created a contemporary look and feel that was enhanced by the food and beverage stalls, plus a decorative court bench product installation which creators were encouraged to capture and share.
To keep on the theme of originality, we hosted The London refinery, an independent creative masterclass workshop, specialising in small, intimate, hands-on education and inspiration sessions. Our guests were educated and guided in creating their own blends of essential oils to bespoke fragrances they could take home with them.
The Rivalry event aimed to create a platform for meaningful and unforgettable experiences that promote enjoyment and self-expression.
adidas have and will always be the true originals, so we are proud to bring this activation to life, celebrating the adidas X ASOS Rivalry collaboration whilst showcasing the future of adidas.
We are excited to announce that our ‘adidas made Originals’ experience has been nominated for a Campaign Brand Experience Award in the ‘Brand Experience B2C – Retail’ category!
Our ‘Disneyland of adidas’ activation coincided with the wider European ‘made originals’ campaign and delivered an immersive experience that brought together the adidas community. Taking over subterranean West London venue Ambika P3 from 30th September-1st October, we combined physical experiences and digital innovations to showcase the best of the brand and transformed the space with a bespoke creative identity that celebrated London’s aesthetic and vibe. We mashed up the past and present by paying homage to iconic brand moments while partnering with local communities to show what being ‘made Originals’ means to them, providing an authentic voice that resonates with Gen Z.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony taking place on March 30th at the Londoner Hotel, London.
Read more about ‘adidas made Originals.‘
tms saw this less as a brand initiative and more like a social movement — a grassroots program that was born within grassroot communities. We established the “adidas Football Collective,” a platform in which Gen Z had control, spirited with positive rebellion to upset the status quo. The program had its eyes and ears in the communities, seeing the problems that truly impacted equality in football and the ability to differentiate superficial symptoms from the deep-rooted causes.
adidas Football Collective has grown to become a unique sub-brand within the adidas brand architecture – collaborating across adidas’ global football infrastructure, catalyzing grassroot community efforts. It works with some of the world’s leading professional and local grass root clubs and partners with UEFA and charities like Common Goal. It has its own fashion line sold across adidas retail and inspired ground-breaking activations.
As part of their European ‘made Originals’ campaign, adidas originals tasked tms (formerly The Marketing Store) with creating an engaging consumer activation in London that demonstrates how the brand “remixes the past to create the future.”
Held over September 30 to October 1 at West London venue Ambika P3, the event aimed to highlight adidas ‘Originals’ importance across London subculture from the past through to the present and the future, bringing together physical experiences and digital innovations to showcase the best of the brand.
TMS collaborated with local communities spanning music, art, gaming, tech, skateboarding and sneakers to show what being ‘made Original’ means to them and to provide an authentic voice that resonates with Gen Z consumers.
Taking over subterranean West London venue Ambika P3, we hosted immersive brand storytelling, exclusive product drops, customization workshops, skate demos, interactive gaming, digital competitions, and previously unseen archival exhibitions. Visitors were also transported to a digital representation of the ‘made Originals’ world through a personalized 3D avatar and an exclusive FORTNITE world — built specially for the campaign and playable in the space alongside London gaming collective Black Girl Gamers.
The activation was wrapped in a bespoke creative identity that celebrated London’s aesthetic — from fly-posters to shop signage and was split into three key areas that represented the best of London. Working alongside key brand partners including Blondey McCoy and Gary Aspden, our team devised the concept and design and built and activated the following:
The Park — a creative space that brought London’s outdoors, indoors and celebrated adidas Originals presence across skateboarding, football, tennis, and music.
The Core — a digital first immersion into the world of adidas Originals and the products that have played a key role in both global and London-specific culture.
The Tunnel — a journey through adidas’ most exclusive and sought-after products including unseen rare pieces and previously unreleased items.
We used the adidas CONFIRMED app as a digital ‘host’ for the event, delivering hyper-local push notifications to inform attendees of what was happening, offer exclusive product raffles within the space and manage all ticketing, and communicate pre/post event.
Day 1 came to a close with an energetic performance from established British rapper slowthai, with support from DJ collective GirlsDon’tSync.
Day 2 saw South London rapper Che Lingo take to the stage to perform tracks from his new album with an exclusive (remote) cameo from Queen’s Roger Taylor, whom Che had previously collaborated with through adidas.
The activation was an overwhelming success and saw a total of 58 million impressions globally, while there were over 10,000 engagements with the CONFIRMED app, including sign-ups and new members and a total of 1,450 experience attendees.
Hannah Partridge, SVP Client Engagement at tms, said:
“It was great to be back out there doing live events again on the biggest stage. The team created a jaw-dropping experience at Ambika, giving Gen Z London the ultimate immersion into the world of adidas Originals.
adidas has played such an important role in shaping London sub-cultures around fashion, music and sport. It was a privilege to be given a chance to reflect on this heritage and look to the future by collaborating with creators at the forefront of their communities to bring the activation to life.”
In a saturated market, it was time to break the mold and establish X20 as the fastest boot in the market for football creators.
Inspired by the speed of the X20 boot, we designed an experience centered around the idea of “ghosting”. The idea was that the boot’s unique Carbitex technology will help any player speed past (ghost) their opponents. It was essential we created a visually impactful experience that would both tell the product story and promote mass engagement.
Multi-sensory installations across the whole adidas store highlighted the design, features, and materials of the X20 boot, demonstrating that when all are harnessed they create the speed that the X franchise is renowned for. tms created a central, show-stopping speed hub, which introduced the X20 and the benefits of Carbitex. It featured an interactive “ghost wall” offering consumers the chance to “see” ghost speed as they passed through the space. We also offered the opportunity for consumers to get their hands on with the boot and put their speed to the test on our custom X running track. A highly shareable installation inspired by Mo Salah’s hero creative offered a visualization of him “ghosting” defenders as he runs in his X20 boots.