ADIDAS | Impossible is Nothing - The Long Run | 2004
Running footsteps brought to life inside dead footage / adidas "Impossible is Nothing - The Long Run"
In old footage from 1974, Muhammad Ali is running in Zaire. Beckham and Zidane run alongside him, catching up. Today's athletes are joining footage that should have been long dead.
The problem
In 2004, aiming to grow its share of the American market, adidas teamed up with 180/TBWA to launch a new global campaign called "Impossible Is Nothing." It rolled out across TV, print, and the internet starting in February, and the first piece chosen was archival footage of the legendary boxer in his younger days.
The insight
The slogan itself was inspired by Ali's own famous words of philosophy. So it only made sense that the film should also start from his actual archival footage. Placing the past and present side by side on the same screen becomes, in itself, proof of the words "impossible is nothing."
The idea
Current top athletes—Beckham, McGrady, Laila Ali, Gebrselassie, Thorpe, Zidane, and Maurice Greene—join a young Ali on his morning run from 1974. Through meticulous post-production, old and new footage is blended seamlessly together. The film was directed by Lance Acord and produced by Park Pictures. No one is breaking any record. They're simply running together, down the same road, in the same direction.
What happened
180 Amsterdam won Gold in the Consumer Television category. On the day the ad launched, searches for "adidas" on Yahoo! increased by 125%, with the biggest response reportedly coming from young men aged 13 to 17.
Afterthought
What gives this ad its power, I think, is that it uses the actual road Ali ran on—real film, not CGI, not a set. It's not staged for nostalgia's sake. It's a connection meant to say, "you're running the continuation of that same road." Plenty of ads bring up the past, but this one catches up to it.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2004
