Adidas might just have struck gold with this energetic new commercial centered around the #ThereWillBeHaters tag and starring soccer superstars Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Luis Suarez (of World Cup biting infamy).
The ad takes a fresh approach by directly addressing and admonishing the reasons for which each of these players attracts trolls and haters -- Bale for his perceived smugness and heart-shape celebration, Benzema for his supposed aloofness, James for being a pretty boy and Suarez for being a cheat.
This is an ad inspired by and targeted towards the social media-obsessed generation. The viewer experiences an onslaught of special effects, graphics, hashtags and various GIF-style and meme-style stills. Clearly Adidas has taken note of the short attention spans of the next generation of sporty youth it hopes to attract.
While all the talk in recent times has been centered around Superbowl commercials, the #ThereWillBeHaters ad may have just blown all of them out of the water.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Soccer Advertising
- Opportunity for brands to address and combat online hate and trolls targeting soccer players through creative ad campaigns.
- Social Media Marketing
- Brands can tap into the social media-obsessed generation by incorporating special effects, graphics, hashtags, GIF-style, and meme-style visuals in their marketing campaigns.
- Next-generation Youth Marketing
- Brands should cater to the short attention spans of the next generation of sporty youth by creating fast-paced and visually engaging advertisements.
Where This Applies
- Sports Apparel
- Opportunity for sports apparel brands to use innovative advertising strategies, like Adidas' #ThereWillBeHaters ad, to appeal to soccer fans and combat negative perceptions.
- Advertising and Marketing
- Companies specializing in advertising and marketing can help brands develop creative campaigns that address online hate and leverage the power of social media to reach target audiences.
- Youth Sports Programs
- Youth sports programs can incorporate the fast-paced and visually engaging style of advertisements like #ThereWillBeHaters to attract and engage the next generation of sporty youth.
