Kevin Garnett had a layup (excuse the pun) marketing opportunity to plug Adidas after his NBA finals victory. He took the shot. Unfortunately he scored for the wrong team. Doh!
I love Darren Rovell's commentary on Kevin Garnett's post-game interview after the Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA finals. (Personal note: I missed the game because I was doing my evening research routine). When asked how it feels to be a champion, he responded by saying "Anything is Possible!" That's great, but the problem is that his sponsor Adidas' slogan is "Impossible is Nothing."
I went back and You Tubed the interview, and it is definitely not a complete disaster. But the salt in the wound is that the number 3 brand in China behind Nike and Adidas is a local brand called Li-Ning (traded in Hong Kong). Li-Ning's slogan is "Anything is Possible." When I traveled the streets of Shanghai and Beijing I counted at least 4 instances where there was an outdoor advertisement (usually billboard) for Adidas with an athlete saying "Impossible is Nothing", only to have Li-Ning leverage the eye traffic and have its own "Anything is Possible" ad across the street. It's quite funny, actually.
If I'm running marketing at Li-Ning, and I've got a basketball-obsessed nation that is gearing up for the Olympics, I'm salivating over this. If I'm running basketball marketing at Adidas, I'm in for a sleepless week.
Not an event of material investment significance as it relates to Adidas, but this blunder was too noteworthy for me to pass up.
I love Darren Rovell's commentary on Kevin Garnett's post-game interview after the Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA finals. (Personal note: I missed the game because I was doing my evening research routine). When asked how it feels to be a champion, he responded by saying "Anything is Possible!" That's great, but the problem is that his sponsor Adidas' slogan is "Impossible is Nothing."
I went back and You Tubed the interview, and it is definitely not a complete disaster. But the salt in the wound is that the number 3 brand in China behind Nike and Adidas is a local brand called Li-Ning (traded in Hong Kong). Li-Ning's slogan is "Anything is Possible." When I traveled the streets of Shanghai and Beijing I counted at least 4 instances where there was an outdoor advertisement (usually billboard) for Adidas with an athlete saying "Impossible is Nothing", only to have Li-Ning leverage the eye traffic and have its own "Anything is Possible" ad across the street. It's quite funny, actually.
If I'm running marketing at Li-Ning, and I've got a basketball-obsessed nation that is gearing up for the Olympics, I'm salivating over this. If I'm running basketball marketing at Adidas, I'm in for a sleepless week.
Not an event of material investment significance as it relates to Adidas, but this blunder was too noteworthy for me to pass up.