Adidas scores one over Nike

Adidas are launching a viral (created by 180 Amsterdam) about a South African boy who keeps an accurate and obsessive count of goals scored by players wearing the F50 shoe. He paints the tally on to a wall poster for the shoe. Simple creative, but a nice play on the insight. Fact of the matter is Adidas wearers scored 63 goals (including 2 sad own goals), and thus were one ahead of Nike’s 62. Puma scored 9.

Nike however seemed to have scored on many other fronts. Eight of the winning Spain team were kitted in Nike boots. Iniesta, who won the World Cup with his last ditch gasp of a goal was in Nike. He wore the CTR360.

But what this is about is clever viraling. Adidas launched the Adizero F50 with a huge Facebook push, featuring greats like Messi, Kaka, Ballack, Simao and more – all touting how football is faster with the F50. To top the scoring chart is no doubt an interesting little ‘property’ to grab and then viralise, build on. That’s what social marketing is about today – finding something that may be of interest to the consumer and the fans and being able to create something around it. That’s a good goal, there, Adidas.