Football hook for adidas' kick-off

In a site just outside Auckland University, adidas placed a giant poster of England footballer Steven Gerrard behind a reverse bungee able to catapult people skyward at over 170 kilometres per hour, giving the impression that the England star has struck the bungee cage into the air himself. The cage itself has been turned into a giant football bearing the official match ball design. The match ball also made its Asia-Pacific debut in major installations inside malls in Seoul and Tokyo, and on top of a building in a major shopping district in Hong Kong. Smaller scale launches were held elsewhere in the region. Adidas brand communications manager for Asia-Pacific Celine del Genes said the central part of the agency brief was to bring the design to the public in the most surprising way, underscoring adidas' product innovation with innovative marketing. "We wanted to make it as unique as possible, as impactful as possible, but, most of all, as unexpected as possible," she said. "Since we are bringing more and more innovative products into the market, we want to link with that through our advertising." TBWA handled creative, while Carat oversaw media. The out-of-home installations were also placed near branded retail outlets in a bid to turn the buzz surrounding the events into sales. Participants in the bungee ball, for example, are taken to a Rebell store, adidas' local partner in New Zealand, following the experience. "We've always tried to place it in key sites and own the spaces around it," del Genes said. The launch events will be complemented early in 2006 with a magazine-based print push, deploying the same creative concept used to promote adidas' official clothing, such as the new boot launched recently, but showcasing the match ball instead.