Adidas Speaks the Fans’ Language in Arsenal Ad

As our Sport Dividend work with FUSE shows, brands appeal to sports fan audiences in different ways. The classic “sports dividend” ad is an ad which performs averagely or well with the general public but much better with sports fans, who are often a distinct audience engaging with particular and predictable content.

But there’s another kind of sports ad too – a commercial aimed not just at people who like sport, but at fans, people who follow a specific team. Those ads matter too, particularly in a world of long-term, hugely valuable sponsorship deals, where a brand sponsor is understandably keen to know how to use its investment and talk in a meaningful way to the fans. What’s the difference between a bland sponsor ad which doesn’t inspire or resonate with fans, and one that demonstrates how the brand truly gets it?

Let’s find out, with adidas and their ad showcasing their latest Arsenal shirts, “Originals”

The Sports Dividend applies here too of course, but for a fan ad there’s a twist. Because the fan audience is so small compared to the general public, brands need to be aiming for ads that are really successful in that audience – 5-Stars and above on Test Your Ad among a fan sample. And conversely, this is one of those rare situations where what the general public makes of an ad honestly isn’t that important. When you’re aiming very hard at specific fans, widening the ad’s appeal to let everyone in risks diluting what makes the ad special.

Tested among Arsenal fans, adidas scores the maximum 5.9-Stars. The ad is perfectly tailored to be effective for its target audience, both in the long and the short term (the ad also scores an Exceptional short-term Spike Rating amongst the fans). How do they do it?

The thing to remember is that even though a specific fandom is a very narrow target group, they respond emotionally to ads in the same way everyone else does, and similar things are effective. So a general audience will enjoy cultural references executed well, as they appeal to the right-brain and help create positive associations with a brand. And an audience of loyal Gooners is exactly the same. You just need different, very specific cultural references.

That’s what “Originals” does so well. A team’s fandom is its own culture, full of passion, lore and history, and brands advertising specifically to its fans need to understand how to tap into that culture. “Originals” doesn’t try to be particularly clever here. It’s an emotional monologue set in and around the team’s Emirates Stadium. And it centers on the modern Arsenal side’s greatest achievement, their “Invincibles” era where they went an entire season (and 49 games overall) unbeaten. Adidas don’t spell out what they’re referring to, but every Arsenal fan knows it immediately. The film is full of references to players from that team and beyond, with bits of fan lore that work perfectly as cultural references.

So to an Arsenal fan it’s an ad that’s speaking their language – but not so unsubtly that they feel they’re being patronised. It respects the achievements, culture and heritage of the team, and for a fan that’s really all they can ask – and the 5.9-Star score proves it. And it even gets in a product message – the sportswear brand is bringing back the original “trefoil” shirts.

Making an ad this closely targeted is not something every brand could or should do – but it makes sense for sponsors. And if your brand is a sponsor of any athlete or team, just look to how well adidas touch the hearts of Arsenal fans for an example of how to do it right.