Staying with my theme of ad-hoc posts on the iconic characters, clients, and campaigns in Brandwave Marketing’s journey over the past two decades – one campaign that really stands out for me is our adidas “All In For The Ride” campaign leading up to the 2012 London Olympics.
It began with pure chance – while trying on some new running shoes at the Adidas London Marathon Events stand, I (very wrongly) assumed Cat Sinton was part of the stand activation team – only to later discover she was the then, UK marketing manager. A week later, as a guest judge on The BBC Young Apprentice finale along with Rio Ferdinand, Joanne Wiggan, and Catherine James, I first met Barry Moore, Adidas’ then UK Marketing Director. Those chance encounters, good old fashioned client chemistry, and a shared passion for sport, led to us spearheading Adidas’ new cycling division ahead of London 2012.
“All In For Your Ride” extended the existing ‘All In’ campaign and tailored it to key cycling audiences – commuters “All In for beating the rat race,” weekend warriors “All In for the Sunday morning miles,” and elites “All In for the win.”
We worked with the legendary Sir Chris Hoy, the Brownlee brothers, and Lizzie Armitstead – shooting summer kit in a freezing cold but thankfully, very sunny Richmond Park, trying (often unsuccessfully) to keep them warm between takes.
What should have been a straightforward press event for the ultra-confidential Olympic kit launch became utterly chaotic when the Lance Armstrong doping scandal broke the night before – press swarmed Sir Chris for a comment.
This campaign was pivotal – not only did it place Brandwave in a bike market on the brink of explosive growth, but under Sir Dave Brailsford, British Cycling’s unprecedented success at the 2012 Olympics solidified them as global bike players. The success of this campaign both internally and externally opened up a bright future for Brandwave with Adidas, where we later worked across multiple different sports categories from fitness and sailing to eyewear and boxing around the world.
