Hasta La Motion!

adidas Originals is running “Original is never finished”, a commercial tying the Frank Sinatra classic song “My Way” with arty performances by visionaries from the worlds of music, skate, sport, style and art. adidas Originals is introducing EQT footwear, a celebrated icon from the 1990s, redefined for a new generation. The “Original is never finished” film explores the idea of reinventing the past to create meaning for a new generation. ‘Original is never finished’ delivers a visual representation bringing to life the idea that recreating in your own way will always be entirely original. In the scene “The Birth of Venus”, artist/photographer Petra Collins reinvents a symbolic icon of beauty. Collins’ subversive, striking visual sequence creates a new relevancy for Botticelli’s infamous work of art. In another scene, rapper and songwriter Snoop Dogg recreates his very own “Doggystyle” album cover with a trippy chase scene, while also making a statement on gender equality in hip hop culture by swapping the roles of his iconic protagonists. Skate legend Gonz appears alongside French professional skater Lucas Puig in “Lucas & The Gonz”, who both take to the streets in their own way. Legendary basketball icon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passes the torch to one of the future, Brandon Ingram in “Raining Basketballs”. Dev Hynes provides a nod to reflections of the past in his choreographed sequence in “Mirrors”. The brand’s iconic product, NMDs, is repurposed into masks by Anonymous to create new meaning as seen in “Sneakerheads”. The underlying theme remains the same — Original is never finished.

“Everything we do for adidas Originals is a work in progress, as true creativity is never finished”, says Alegra O’Hare, VP of Global Communications adidas Originals & Core. “We are constantly challenging ourselves and breaking down the boundaries that limit imagination; we hope to inspire all creators to do the same. We first raised this idea in 2015 through our superstar work, questioning the very meaning of the word. We then continued with the notion of the current dystopian future, by motivating consumers to take future into their own hands and create it. Now with original, probably the most important and centric concept to our brand’s ethos, we elevate the trefoil’s storytelling, as we look into what it really means to be original, questioning its very essence.”

adidas Original is never finished Credits

The adidas Original is never finished campaign was developed at Johannes Leonardo by chief creative officers Jan Jacobs, Leo Premutico, creative directors Ferdinando Verderi, Wesley Phelan, Matthew Edwards, copywriter Jeph Burton, art director Hunter Hampton, head of integrated production Dana May, executive producer Maria Perez, producers Tina Diep, Stine Moisen, sr, Doug Moffitt, production coordinator Alexandra Olivo, head of strategy Mark Aronson, and strategist Mine Cakmak, group account director Sam McCallum, account director Dom Dalton, account supervisor Gulru Soylu.

Filming was shot by director Terence Neale via RSA Films with executive producers Jules Daly and Paul Kawasaki, producer Rozanne Rocha-Gray, director of photography Alexis Zabe. Local work in Cape Town was produced at Egg Films by executive producer Colin Howard and producer Roxanne Rocha-Gray.

Editing was done at Exile by lead editor Shane Reid, editors Jay McConville, Travis Moore, executive producers Sasha Hirschfeld, Carol Lynn Weaver, and head of production Melanie Gagliano, head of production.

Visual effects were produced at Blacksmith by VFX supervisor/2D lead Iwan Zwarts, 2D compositors Daniel Morris, Liz Lyons, 3D lead artist Tom Bussell, 3d artist Ylli Orana, executive producer Charlotte Arnold, and producer Megan Sweet. Rotoscoping was done at Trace VFX.

Colorist was Tom Poole at Company 3 with producer Clare Movshon.

Sound was designed at Q Department by executive producer Zack Rice and producer Guin Frehling. Audio post was done at Sonic Union by sound engineer Steve Rosen, executive producer Justine Cortale, and producer Patrick Sullivan.

The soundtrack, “My Way”, was written as a French song, “Comme d’habitude” by Claude Francois, Jacque Revaux, and Gilles Thibaut before being written for Frank Sinatra by Paul Anka, published by BMG, and released by Universal Music Enterprise. Music was supervised by adidas global music manager Daniel Cross, remixed at Human by creative lead/music director Morgan Visconti, creative lead/sound designer Michael Jurasits, executive producer James Dean Wells, composer/arranger James Leibow.

Photography was by Hayden Phipps, Cape Town, Dan Regan and Atiba Jefferson, Los Angeles.

Snoop Dogg in “Doggystyle”, Stormzy in “Trap Syrup”, Mabel in “Tunnel”, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Brandon Ingram in “Raining Basketballs”, Dej Loaf in “Inflated”, Dev Hynes in “Mirrors”, Gonz and Lucas Puig in “Lucas & The Gonz”, Petra Collins in “The Birth of Venus”, “Sneakerheads” and “Essential Squad”.