Sports brands seem to really like the same ad formula. It was watchable, engaging and inspiring (all the good things brands want) in its first few renditions. You even remembered the brand. Now it’s hard to be found in the clutter.

TBWA\NEBOKO has realised it’s time to move on. It is has moved way out – into Rick and Morty’s wild and wacky world. This global campaign for adidas Football’s new X SPEEDPORTAL football boots is a standout. Brilliantly clever and very, very funny. Rick and Morty allow the brand to indulge in the fun of exaggeration and TBWA\NEBOKO went as far as it could.    

“It’s one of these campaigns where you throw something at the wall early on, thinking it is going to get a few laughs and fall off, but it sticks,”  Toby Castle-Smith, copywriter at TBWA\NEBOKO, recalled. “But a few months later (and with the trust and support of our partners at adidas Football) we’re on weekly calls with the wonderful people at Adult Swim, and it all starts to come to life.”

“Consumers told us two things very clearly when we were building this campaign: one was that football is getting faster, but the other was that they felt there was room for sports brands to reflect the fun in the game. With these things in mind, we were confident that, collectively, this was a real chance to push the limits,” added Gonzalo Calvo, global director brand communication, communities & culture at adidas.

The centrepiece of the campaign is a 90-second Rick and Morty adventure, created in partnership with Adult Swim and the show’s creators. Once again, Morty is at the mercy of another Rick idea, as he enlists the help of Mo Salah and Vivianne Miedema to create the X SPEEDPORTAL boots. From there, the fun gets even wilder:

One of the key pieces that came out of this match made in multidimensional heaven, is the portal. Acting as a metaphor for multidimensional speed, the portal – developed by Post Panic –  bridges between every piece of content, whether in animation, 3D or live action. In these live action player films, Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi are also featured. 

“It was always important to us that the narrative weaved throughout the entire campaign,” Jeremy Pedro, TBWA\NEBOKO art director, noted. “As big fans of cinematic universes, no detail was too small when it came to connecting the dots. Every piece of content serves its own purpose, but when combined tells a much bigger story, from start to finish.”

Calvo added, “To footballers of all levels, our X franchise has come to be synonymous with speed, but one thing we know is that speed is not what it used to be. It’s not so linear and incorporates things like quick thinking and fast reactions. With that in mind we didn’t just want to make another football campaign around speed, in the traditional sense of the word.”

The 90-second adventure will run theatres, on TV (in selected markets), and paid digital. Cutdowns of the film will also be shared across paid digital and social on both adidas and Rick and Morty channels.

Credits:

Client: adidas  
Head of Global Brand Marketing Football: Matt Davidson 
Global Director Brand Communication, Communities & Culture: Gonzalo Calvo       
Senior Global Brand Communications Manager Football: Jara Velilla  
Manager Brand Communication Football: Nikolai Ehrentraut 
Senior Media Producer: Penny Pijnenburg  
Senior Producer: James Pinnington   
Creative Shoot Producer: Greta Bridekirk   

Creative Agency: TBWA\NEBOKO
Rick and Morty Film Production: Adult Swim
Player films Directors: Adeus
Player films Production company: TBWA\NEBOKO
Line production company: 24/7 sports, Sugar Free TV & AprilMay London
VFX: Post Panic
Photographer (Messi & Salah): Carles Carabí
Photographer (Miedema): Olly Burn
Post production key visuals: Loupe&co
Sound studio: Audentity
Editor: Kapsalon
Grading and Online: De Grot
Media agency: MediaCom
Retail agency: Attitude