Client: Adidas Originals
General Manager: Torben Schumacher
Global VP of Brand Communications: Alegra O’Hare
Global Senior Director of Communications and Brand Marketing: Jenny Pham
Global Director of Brand Communications (PR/Social): Silvia Calligher
Global Senior Manager Communications: Edi Borelli
Global Senior Manager Communications: Ludovic Schuler
Senior Social Media Manager, Global Brand Marketing: Aeneas Panayiotou
Senior Director, Global Brand Marketing Operations & Creative Shoot Production: John van Tuyll
Senior Shoot and Production Manager: Justin Townsend
Shoot and Production: Manager Christian Wirth
Agency: Johannes Leonardo
Chief Creative Officer: Jan Jacobs
Chief Creative Officer: Leo Premutico
Creative Director, Partner: Ferdinando Verderi
Creative Director: Wesley Phelan
Creative Director: Matthew Edwards
Senior Copywriter: Jeph Burton
Senior Art Director: Hunter Hampton
Head of Integrated Production: Dana May
Executive Producer: Maria Perez
Producer (Film): Doug Moffitt
Producer (Print): Adam Gong
Group Account Director: Sam McCallum
Account Director: Dom Dalton
Account Supervisor: Gulru Soylu
Assistant Account Executive: Sara Sharpe
Head of Strategy: Mark Aronson
Strategist: Miné Cakmak
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Ann Marie Turbitt
Agency: The 88
Chief Creative Officer: Harry Bee
Head of Production: Adam Copeland
Brand Director: Sean Benz
Senior Social Creative: Hedwig Alghren
Social Creative: Will Nichols
Senior Account Manager: Tyler Murphy
Film Production: IDENTITY
Director: Philip Andelman
DP: Max Goldman
Executive Producer: Joe Masi
Executive Producer: Alana Hearn
Producer: Josh Goldstien
Editorial (Brand Films): Union Editorial
Editor (Lead): Marco Perez
Producer: Lauren Hafner Addison
Executive Producer: Caryn Maclean
Color (Brand Films): Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Producer: Alexandra Lubrano
Sound Design & Mix: Mr Bronx
Sound Engineer: Eric Hoffman
Executive Producer: Molly Burke
Editorial (Social Films): Loroto
Editor: John Wilson
Producer: Nick Curran
Color Correct (Social Films): Company 3
Colorist: Kath Raisch
Audio (Social Films): Duotone
Audio Engineer: Juan Aboites
Executive Producer: Greg Tiefenbrun
Synopsis:
Adidas Originals and Johannes Leonardo recently tapped IDENTITY’s Philip Andelman to direct a contemporary campaign that captures the minimalist philosophy of Adidas Originals’ EQT line. The five-spot campaign expresses the creative spirit of Detroit, a forward-look city in the midst of an innovative rebirth, by featuring local artists and musicians.
“The whole theory of the EQT brand is that it’s rooted in stripped down, sparse essentialism,” said Director Andelman, “The first EQT line was born in Berlin in the early 90s, and when it was relaunched last year, Adidas Originals picked Detroit as EQT’s new home base. They’re like sister cities, raw and real, undergoing a rebirth and fostering thriving artistic communities. It’s always been a dream of mine to shoot in Detroit, and I really connected with the philosophy behind the EQT brand.”
Filmed on location, the campaign includes four 15-second spots that are mini portraits of local Detroit talent, including rapper Danny Brown, musician and creative Angel Haze, artist Tiff Massey and musician and producer Jay Daniel. The campaign embraces the undying spirit of Detroit, a city infused with soul, rising up from the ashes, as seen through the eyes of the featured artists. A longer 60-second spot culminates the creative philosophies of all four artists, shot in stripped-down locations throughout the city.
“The locations were breathtaking, haunting and beautiful. It’s easy to show ruins in Detroit, but we wanted to show a city ready to blossom and on the verge of a revival,” noted Andelman, “I worked closely with the DP, my friend Max Goldman, to select stark, empty locations that didn’t feel like ruins, and instead expressed a sense of hope that there’s a birth taking place in the city.”
The sparse locations are paired with a soft, echoed soundtrack, creating an empty canvas for an artistic renaissance in the city fueled by innovative growth and transformation.