This is how we activated ~1 million runners worldwide to participate in adidas’ sustainability cause, all while driving sell through of 5 million pairs of Ultraboost x Parley.

CHALLENGE

In 2018, adidas partnered with nonprofit environmental organization Parley for the Oceans to create the Ultraboost Parley shoe, a high-performance running shoe made from upcycled ocean plastic. 1 pair of shoes prevents 11 plastic bottles from entering the ocean. 

Despite the Ultraboost being a highly innovative environmental product, and adidas having served as a champion for environmental conservation for many years, the competitive environment for sustainable products was extremely competitive. 

In fact, consumers had began equating liking or sharing on social media, or buying eco-friendly goods, to actively protecting the environment. This cultural trend became such a dominant form of activism that it even got its own name—“slacktivism.” 

Adidas, who has always believed that “sports have the power to change the world,” wanted to do more to stop the cycle of slacktivism and inspire people to take genuine action. Their campaign goal became a brand mission: inspire the world to put the “act” back into ACTivism. Clicking wasn’t enough—it was time to Run for the Oceans. 

SOLUTION

Aligned with the release of the Ultraboost shoe, on World Oceans Day 2018, adidas and Parley launched Run for the Oceans, a global running movement that uses the power of sports to raise awareness around the threat of marine plastic pollution. 

While we focused traditional paid media on the shoe, we dedicated our owned channels, running communities, and new and existing partnerships to promote Run for the Oceans. For every kilometer ran, adidas committed to donating $1 to the cause for the first 1 million kilometers. 

We mobilized the global adidas Runners network to organize weekly running initiatives in 50 communities worldwide, hosting runs in several key cities including LA, New York, Paris, Berlin, London, Barcelona, Milan and Shanghai. We leveraged digital platforms such as Runtastic and JoyRun (in China) where runners could donate kilometers toward adidas’ $1M goal. Runners joined adidas ambassadors Shaunae Miller, Tori Bowie and Wayde Van Niekerk among other high-profile athletes in their efforts to spread the message on social. We maximized budget across our media strategy by marrying functional product messaging with our purpose-based mission, each creating a positive halo around one another. 

RESULTS

Within the first four days of launch, adidas’ newly formed global ACTivist community surpassed its goal of 1 million kilometers run in total. By day 30, Run for the Oceans collectively ran a staggering 12.4 million kilometers—the equivalent of running to the moon and back 16 times! 

A total of 924,237 runners from around the world joined the Run for the Oceans movement, 85% of which were new registrants on Runtastic and JoyRun and who had never run with adidas before. As a result, adidas recruited a targeted community of nearly 1 million environmentally conscious consumers to be mobilized in future initiatives. 

Every single pair of Ultra Boost shoes we made in 2018 (5 million) was sold.