Claire Beale's Best in Show: Adi Dassler
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Your support makes all the difference.You might not have heard of Adi Dassler. But I bet you've worn his work. He was the founder of adidas and made his first sports shoe by hand in 1925.
If you read the adidas PR blurb, Adi was "a true original, an innovator... the things he created touched people all over the world". So I think Adi would approve of the new campaign from 180 Amsterdam that pays homage to his vision.
It's a triumph of craftsmanship. The film is set in a mini-version of Adi's original workshop, a set that apparently took 30 people more than a month to build. The shoes, the tools, Adi himself are all handmade in miniature and were beautifully filmed in Prague in stop-frame animation. Czech director Martin Krejci was at the helm, through production company Stink, with the animation directed and produced by Michal Podhradsky.
The story is voiced by the legendary German actor Jürgen Prochnow and the music is an original score performed by the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Quality. The ad tells the story of Adi's career, from his first shoe to becoming the world's second-largest sportswear manufacturer. Real footage of sporting stars using Adi's designs is cleverly inserted.
The film is also designed to work online (see adidas.com) and the functionality of the site will be added to over the coming months to provide new, enhanced, user experiences. It's simply a work of immense love. Adi would be proud.
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