Adidas unites major icons to tackle negative sports pressure in global campaign

Adidas unites its biggest sporting icons from across the world in its latest campaign, to create a positive rallying cry to help everyday athletes believe they can overcome pressure and achieve their possibilities in sport.

The new global brand campaign is driven by feedback and insights from consumers around the world that for many people, negative pressure can affect their enjoyment of sport. To help address this throughout the campaign, Adidas will release a wide range of athlete stories, insights from experts and guidance materials - all designed to help athletes at any level to disarm pressure in sports.

Alongside one of the biggest spectacles in the sporting calendar - the brand kicked off the campaign with a film featuring Pat Mahomes, Trinity Rodman, Lionel Messi, Linda Caicedo, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Edwards, Rohit Sharma, and the New Zealand Rugby All Blacks, dedicated to celebrating athletes dealing with pressure.

Set against the timeless and iconic anthem, ‘Under Pressure’ by Queen ft. David Bowie, the new film spotlights everyday athletes experiencing the weight of expectation and what is possible when they silence its impact with the joyous rallying cry - 'You Got This.' The 90-second film climaxes with a tribute to Adidas’ star-studded roster performing at the top of their game during some of their most high-stakes sporting moments.

From Jude Bellingham scoring in his UEFA Champions League debut campaign for Real Madrid to Emily Malewski flawlessly executing her beam dismount at the 2022 German Championships – each athlete showing how they handle pressure to help inspire everyday athletes to do the same.

To bring to life how elite athletes manage pressure and to provide tangible guidance to all athletes, Adidas has partnered with Neuro11, a group of leading sports neuroscientists. By capturing brain readings from grassroots athletes, alongside elite Adidas athletes – Emiliano Martinez, Ludvig Adberg, Nneka Ogwumike, Rose Zhang, and Stina Blackstenius – this part of the campaign shows the mechanics of how the world's best overcome in-game pressure.

Talking about pressure in his game, Rohit Sharma shared, “Challenges are part and parcel of an athlete's life. These are opportunities to learn and grow. But converting challenges into opportunities takes a tremendous amount of willpower and guts. You really need to push yourself and say, “You Got This.” I have had that attitude all my life and it has enabled me to manage pressure every time I am pushed out of my comfort zone.”

Speaking on the new brand campaign, Florian Alt, VP of Global Brand Comms at Adidas said: “In a year of unmissable sport, where our Adidas family will undoubtedly inspire a new wave of athletes across the globe, we have created a campaign to help young players confront a universal barrier – pressure. Our new campaign is designed to help bring the joy back to sport and equip all athletes with a simple message; You got this.”

The campaign will be complemented by an ongoing content series featuring athletes across a wide range of sports, as well as events and activations for consumers to take part in. A dedicated global multiplatform media investment will see the campaign reach consumers all over the world, including spectacular out-of-home executions in major cities and high-relevance localisations.