The through-the-line 'numbers' campaign - comprising television, print, outdoor, retail promotions and interactive executions - features people from all over China wearing the new, adidas China national team shirt.
The twist is that each person has his own personal number, ranging from 100 to 1.2 billion.
Darren Chan, Adidas Asia-Pacific head of advertising, said the idea was based on a UK soccer practice where clubs name 'supporters' as the '12th player' in the team's line-up ahead of a game.
"We wanted to capitalise on the euphoria surrounding China's first ever qualification to a World Cup by recognising the fans as being part of the team as they have contributed to the country's success, Chan said.
The concept was the brainchild of start-up agency Bang, along with creative consultant, Stanley Wong, the chief creative officer of Centro Digital Pictures. Bang managing partner and creative director, Chris Kyme, said: "Since this was one of the major milestones for China, along with membership to the WTO and getting the 2008 Olympics, the brief was to make the most of the moment."
Fan recognition is immediately evident in the headlines: 'Because of your support, China is finally going to the World Cup' and '1.2 billion team members from all over the nation passionately involved'.
The TVC represents the first time that Adidas has specially-commissioned a commercial for China. The campaign is running alongside Adidas' global 'Footballitis' campaign, which consists of 10 different commercials developed by Amsterdam-based 180 Communications. The latter has soccer legends David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane as well as China's Fan Zhiyi, who also appears in the Chinese version.
The execution running in China, however, will be dropped when the World Cup gets underway and replaced by the global version.
The internet forms one of the major components of the campaign. Carmen Chan, Adidas' regional new media manager, said that the online initiative encourages interaction through quizzes and a World Cup slogan contest.
