Johannes Leonardo: Kendall Jenner causes controversy for Adidas

The Kardashians may well be exemplify what’s wrong with the world – or at least part of it – but you have to feel sorry for Kendall Jenner, whose appearance in the third instalment of Adidas’ Original is Never Finished campaign is already receiving hate mail.

“Yall are idiots adidas. Jenners have more negatives with their name than positive. I aint buying ur brand until u drop her,” one of the many self-assigned critics wrote.

In fact, the ad by Johannes Leonardo is arresting, stand-alone, memorable, aesthetically beautiful and compelling.

All the good things that sports advertising and fashion advertising need to be. As were its two predecessors. Jenner is just a celebrity accessory in the film – and that’s perfectly fine. It’s what fashion and sports brands do. A multi-million people fan base gets the brand entrenched in profitable enclaves it possibly couldn’t otherwise reach.

The film also stars James Harden. Playboi Carti. 21 Savage. Young Thug. And what they are all meant to represent is “doing it their way” – Adidas’ new brand theme. Frank Sinatra continues to underline that theme with his classic song, My Way, as he has in the first two ads in the campaign.

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“Adidas Originals always wants to stay true to the ethos of endless creativity, and it is important to stay centric to our DNA in that a real original, and authentic creativity, is always a work in progress,” noted Alegra O’Hare, vice presidnet of global communications for Adidas Originals & Core.

Credits:
Creative agency: Johannes Leonardo
Chief creative officers: Jan Jacobs & Leo Premutico
Creative directors: Ferdinando Verderi, Wesley Phelan & Matthew Edwards
Copywriter: Jeph Burton
Art Director: Hunter Hampton
Head of Integrated Production: Dana May
Executive Producer: Maria Perez

Group Account Director: Sam McCallum
Account Director: Dominique Dalton
Head of Strategy: Mark Aronson
Strategist: Miné Cakmak

Production Company: RSA Films
Director: Terence Neale
Executive Producers: Jules Daly & Paul Kawasaki
Producers: Julie Sawyer & Rozanne Rocha-Gray
DoP: Alexis Zabe
Stylists: Richard De Jager & Gabby De Gersigny