In late June, German sportswear giant Adidas released an ad poster both online and offline outside its stores across China. Eagle-eyed netizens in China quickly recognised from the layout that Adidas had recreated its iconic José +10 ad campaign from 2006, often called the “best football advertising of all time”.
The original was released in time for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the brand’s home country. In the ad, two children play rock, paper, scissors to build their dream “impossible team” consisting of the best players of all time. At the end, the players stand together facing José, who has his back to the viewer, for the iconic shot. 19 years later, Adidas recreated the ad poster in China, but in place of José the boy, is the 17-year-old Spanish player Lamine Yamal, and in place of the all-star team are 31 players from the China Highschool Football League (CHFL).
The CHFL is an inter-school football series organised by China’s Ministry of Education, and Adidas has been a sponsor since 2024. Having only remotely interacted with CHFL players last year, Yamal will be present at the league’s final on 9 July this year. By positioning the high school players as the dream team on the poster, and Yamal, the “super highschooler”, as the one who dreams, shown with his back to the camera, Adidas makes sure that the star is everyone who plays. The brand then hits home with its new slogan: You got this.
Adidas has been working closely with the education system in China, from the Tsinghua University collaborations to sponsoring the CHFL. With amateur and youth sports being all the rage in China, it is a great opportunity for Adidas to win over the goodwill of sports fans in the country.