Zeus32
Donald Glover’s talents know no bounds.
Nike has turned heads this week with their intrepid branding campaign. Revolving around the resolute athletes who fearlessly manifest their dreams through perseverance and vision, the campaign centers on the one man who embodies this notion to the fullest: Colin Kaepernick.
Revealed in a simple yet alluring black and white photo with an emotionally resonating caption of “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”, this brand initiative’s polarizing nature has incited a national dialogue of reverence and chagrin. Nike, however, isn’t the only athletic outfitter who’s keen on leveraging an outsized entertainment figure for commercial success.
Adidas has long been in Nike’s shadow of athletic wear market share, but they’ve strategically focused on securing some of the music industry’s most popular names to compensate: Kanye West, Pusha T, Pharrell, Selena Gomez, Snoop Dogg, A$AP Ferg, and more. By investing a sizeable portion into artistic sponsorship, they’ve emerged as the premiere shoe company for a collection of prominent rappers; they’ve congruently aligned themselves with the industry’s most popular genre. Doubling-down on this approach, Adidas has tapped one of music’s–and entertainment at large–greatest assets, Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino, for their latest campaign.
Revealed in a post from their Adidas Originals Instagram account yesterday, September 5th, a drawing of Gambino–in a similar aesthetic as the animations for his recently-released “Feels Like Summer” video–can be seen wielding an Adidas sneaker with the caption, “Welcome to the family, @ChildishGambino”. Considering Donald Glover is just as recognizable as when singing as Childish Gambino as he is playing Earn from Atlanta and Lando Calrissian, this signing can, realistically, only be forecasted as fruitful for the three-stripe brand.
Glover’s consistently proven that he’s got the Midas touch, and smart money bets that his golden fingers will extend to his new sneaker endeavor. A creatively-inclined man intent on excelling at anything he attempts, this partnership is poised to be a mutually beneficial proposition, and should bring with it some fresh kicks along the way.
Check out Glover’s animated visual for the new Adidas campaign below:
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