Marketing Within Football (The Adidas Predator)

 Marketing In Football

 

Football is an ever expanding, multi-cultural and beloved sport like no other. From every corner of the globe there are local teams competing against each other to be the very best. Whether what age, gender, race sexuality, football can unite people.  With so much going on within the game, we may not realise the amount of marketing that actually takes place within the beautiful game. Today we will be going through a deep dive and uncovering the millions of pounds being pumped into marketing campaigns within the beautiful game.

To kick off we will begin with the most recent marketing campaign within football that has changed our outlooks on and off the pitch. In the late 90s and early 2000s there was one football boot that stood out to all, some of the biggest names wore them and made them truly iconic to football fans all over the world, the Adidas Predator. From David Beckham hitting two perfect crosses in his most famous victory in 1999 to help win the Champions League, to Zidane’s breath-taking volley in the Champions League final they wore the iconic boots in their own iconic moments, writing them in football folklore. 

 

The boots had the standout tonged design that made people feel like they hit a ball harder wearing them, the boots simply had an aura about them that competitors found difficult to match. However, as the football boots industry changed for a more lightweight design, the predator found itself with a new look that truly was unpopular within its own fanbase. This led to Adidas discontinuing the boot in May 2015. Forever popular and with fans screaming out for a return to ‘the good old days’, Adidas relented and remade the Predator with a new lightweight model and the iconic tonged design. 

With the iconic boot back, the former players who stood out for their moments of excellence wearing them where long retired. Adidas could have decided to find the best current players and hope that they stand out in them to bring eyes to the product, however Adidas decided to go down a different approach. They decided to get upcoming footballers who have not established themselves with a big named brand. They landed on two players specifically, Trent- Alexander Arnold and most importantly Jude Bellingham. 

With Trent they had already reaped the rewards from the partnership as, within a 1-1 Draw with Man City, Trent scored for Liverpool and pulled of an iconic celebration silencing a crowd who themselves thought they would walk over Liverpool. However, one of the main talking points from fans was the custom pair of Adidas Predators Trent was wearing, matching Liverpool’s kit. With Liverpool’s biggest club legend and local hero Steven Gerrard previously being a Predator wearer, it made fans reminisce within Trent the new local hero within the squad. This marketing brings previous fans back to the ‘good old days’ and brings in Gen Z fans who missed Gerrard’s Prime to almost relive it through local lad, Trent Alexander Arnold. 

Next Adidas aimed the main part of the campaign on one man’s shoulders, Jude Bellingham. The man who came to Real Madrid and decided to take Zidane’s number five shirt, with sky high expectations, could Jude live up to the hype? The short answer, Yes! With so many stand out moments in his debut season, such as a brace against Barcelona, and winning the Champions League. The twenty-year-old had produced unmissable moments while wearing Adidas marquee product. 

Adidas correctly made Jude Bellingham the face of the Predator range, and he has fully repaid them back with his excellent performances that are truly outstanding. And with the Marketing of his own signature boot, the black and white advertisements take people back to the good times.