Zero-Tag.org a.k.a, adidas hates you, your art and thinks you are scum.
Zero-Tag.org is a new campaign by adidas which aims to build its brand within the street culture of Melbourne via the graff community.
It consists of a series of fake notices being plastered over graffiti and legal murals around Melbourne notifying artists that the walls will be buffed while also giving them the web address and phone number of the ficitious community group responsible. The aim is to get the irate artists to look up the site or ring the support line at which point they realise it’s all just an ad for adidas.
Its a bit of a laugh, but it’s easy to argue how ineffective this campaign is as an ACTUAL way for adidas to sell shoes and build its rep in with their target market.
The campaign shows a general misunderstanding of the street culture and reeks of some agency trying to be “clever”, “edgy” and “subversive”. Its depiction of writers is done in jest, but non the less is indicative of the general publics disrespectful perception of street art and graffiti.
It is in all ways, an outsiders approach to the culture and it should be expected that cultural marketing manager of adidas Originals Australia understand his/her brand better than to conduct such a campaign.
The message being broadcasted to us all is that adidas would prefer to make light of ignorance of community groups such as R.A.G.E’s and the controversy surrounding the illegality of graffiti in Melbourne to use it as a platform for “clever” promotions rather than focus on supporting and developing the creative and positive aspects of the culture that is it trying to sell to.
They don’t understand or care about the culture, and their pitch is disingenuous and malignant.
Earlier this year adidas turned down supporting an Australia wide tour of an art exhibition organized by Def Jams graphic designer Cey Adam, a show which was to be a massive collection highlighting and analyzing the contribution that graffiti has made to the worlds of graphic design, contemporary art and fashion over the last 25 years. We see now that they did so in favor for campaigns like this, and we wonder how the marketing manager has managed to keep his/her job.
Well turned down not quite true, adidas Originals Australia did make an offer. Which was to generously give Cey a wardrobe of adidas apparel (which he actually designed for them) in return for presenting sponsorship rights throughout Australia, and also that they’d support the show on the contingency that it was hosted in adidas originals stores. This offer shows such utter disrespect for art and street culture that I don’t know where to begin.
Its important to note that Cey’s show would have been made up of artwork from his new book, DefInition which features the likes of, A Bathing Ape, Angela Boatwright, Andre Leroy Davis, BLK MRKT, Bobbito Garcia, Brent Rollins, CAN 2, Cey Adams, Chris Yormick, law Money, COPE 2, CYCLE, Dalek, David Ellis, DL Warfield, Doze Green, EZO, Fafi, Fahamu Pecou, GIANT, Greg Larmache, Gravillis inc, Jeff Soto, HAZE, KAWS, Kehinde Wiley, Keith Haring, Kinsey, Krink, Lee Quinones, Martha Cooper, Mint+Serf, Morning Breath, INK, QUIK, REVOLT, Staple Design, SKET, Toy2R, Tristan Eaton, ZEPHYR. It is going to be an incredible book, one of the definitive pieces in the library of Hip Hop. (keep an eye out for it)
Whats more, this event would of cost a fraction of the Zero-Tag campaign. This scenarios is frustrating because it is the exact reason why adidas is incapable of reaching its brand potential.
Other brands, for example Vans have effectively promoted their branding though their association with the arts world. And they have done so by having an intimate understanding and positive involvement with the community. Through their support of artists like NeckFace, they’ve become a part of the culture, they appear to genuinely respect the culture and in turn they are genuinely respected. They haven’t isolate themselves culturally in the same way that adidas has and will continue to do through campaigns such as this.
The question is, why is adidas, which has such a strong history in street culture floundering so hard, insulting its audience and somehow getting less fashionable by the day?
From my experience the answer is based on the ignorance of their marketing teams, both locally and internationally. People who know nothing about art and culture, bubble heads with marketing degrees that are only interested in their next paid holiday and putting together an adequate presentation so they can call the job “done ” and go home to watch TV.
The only thing they did get right was to use the 20’s and 10’s “terror dome” t-shirt in their you tube video. (below)
Good to see they’ll use our t-shirts and artwork, pity they wont take our advice…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYGF7f0UvzM[/youtube]
