Random thoughts on Adidas after removing Supermodel Bella Hadid from ad campaign

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We are about to see the 2024 Summer Olympics kick off in the Capital of Fashion next week. The list of designers for outfitting the national teams reads like a pret-a-porter Show with names like #GirogioArmani #Lululemon #Justinchou #LVMH #Berluti #Michelamazonka and many many more.  Any sport event around the world has also become the arena for the big names like #Nike, #Adidas, #Puma, #LeCoqSportif, #Underarmour,#NewBalance #Reebok, #Velaasa #Converse where designated merch for said brands will catapult sales.

All eyes are on the athletes during Olympic events and when those athletes don specific logos, those brands get instant reach. We are seeing more and more sports brands no longer relying on the star power of traditional athletes to peddle products but also tap into non-sporting influencers to broaden gravity and allure. Brandintelligent companies have started to comprehend the fact that talent from Music, Fashion, Cinema can be as just effective in their campaigns or even exceed hybrid marketing. It goes without sayig that Nike is the incumbent here with celebs like #MichaelJordan, #KendrickLamar, #ZaraLarsson, #ShaCarririchardson and many other influential public figures.

Runner-up Adidas has followed suit and endorsed #AaronRodgers, #LionelMessi, #PharrellWilliams, #KendellJenner and Kanye West amongst others. We all remember that Ye’s endorsement turned out to be a major brand crisis that has left some scars behind.  Choosing the greatest internet personality to decorate your latest line isn’t easy. Brands have to be careful to partner with talent who have some natural crossover with or relevance to their product. An ill-considered partnership can cause loss of credibility with your core brandlovers and brand ambassador/influencer.

While Adidas prides itself in the positive aspects of diversity in the workforce with values like Courage, Ownership, Innovation, Teamplay and Integrity, these values  seem to serve the financial aspects of the Shareholders only. Buzzwords resonate with an international audience looking to fulfill the leadership model outlined in the Vision/Mission of a global entity. These serve the higher purpose of doing exactly what the company asks you to do, which is to buy their product.

Even if on the surface Adidas positions itself as a neutral company in regards to sociopolitical causes, their actions as can be seen in the Causa Bella Hadid speak a different language.

Nike on the other hand was the first global brand to take a political stance by supporting Athlete Colin Kaepernick who himself took a political stance. One could argue that Kaepernick’s stance actually perfectly aligned with Nike’s logo “Just do it”. Examining perceived organizational motives and public responses requires authentic support and implementation of mechanisms in company structures.  

After reading yesterday’s headlines of Bella Hadid being the wrong face for Adidas  SL72 shoe campaign which referenced the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich - it was in these Games where 11 Israeli Athletes and a German police officer were killed by a militant Palestinian Group - I would like to raise the jutting question if corporations should take public stances on socially and politically controversial issues? Especially when they receive such a polarized public response. Again, companies have to decide and define what their involvement is when it comes to political issues?

Subsequently defining the criteria for the most suitable influencer/brand ambassador requires a fluid mindset that has affinity to digital ecosystems and a deep understanding of your brand’s heritage. It should be the genuine job of Marketing to search and find an influencer that is the best fit for your brand. Digging deep into the archives can be a creative challenge as values from the past might not fit the current state of the art of the sociocultural setting.

In Adidas’ case, it looks like several quality gates here failed or were not even installed. The sensitive issue of potential ramifications in terms of sociopolitical dimensions should have been clarified before the search process even started.

Bella Hadid Supermodel and US citizen, graces the covers of the world’s most prestigious magazines and events. It should be of no relevance whether her mom is Dutch or her Father was born in British Mandate of Palestine (Nazareth) and had to flee with his family as a toddler due to the 1947-49 Palestine War to Syria.

Families of having a history of migration is rather normal in the US and once was the foundation of “The American Dream”. By removing Bella Hadid as one of the faces for the campaign after they received critisicm from Israeli organisations, provokes the assumption that due to her parent’s ethnicity and her outspoken Palestinian activism, there is a direct wrongdoing from her side. One could even argue that this removal insinuates she supported the murder of innocent athletes 24 years before she was even born. She was born in 1996 in the US and has absolutely no connections whatsoever to the incidents in 1972.

Bella Hadid has millions of followers on social media and shares outtakes of her life with her community.  She is not only  a role model but has been a longstanding partner with the world’s most iconic brands. Adidas on the other hand who is not an individual but a  corporation that supposedly stands for certain values but also shrouds itself in attempted neutrality to not dampen profits. But this very hiding or not being able to not want to share their true stance damages them more than it could ever damage Bella Hadid’s standing as Supermodel and citizen of the free world who can raise her voice without fearing profit repercussions.  

Adidas has been the official outfitter of the German Olympic Team as long as I can remember. I went to Primary 1 in Bavaria during the Summer Olympics in Munich in 1972. I don’t remember the attack in the Olympic village but the political consequences thereof have been a constant reminder in the collective memory of Germany since then.

Adidas with its own dark connections to the past actively decided to withstand the temptations of caving into purely political ramifications. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that  Adidas at least acknowledged and tried to reappraise its enmeshment during the Third Reich. Adidas was given the chance to excel on the global market because it was not condemned due to its beliefs in the past. Pulling out of an ad campaign a week before the Olympics will have more negative implications for Adidas than for Bella Hadid - #boycottadidas is already trending and solidarity with her will only put more pressure on Adidas, showing that their marketing department and leadership are incapable of putting an empowering spin on a topic that doesn’t need more division but actually more unification!

Therefore brands should learn from this and stay true to their purpose: Through sport we have the power to change lives.

Trust within a brand takes years to build, seconds to break and forever to repair. In times where new players are entering and dominating the sports market like #Anta and #LiNing, your success will be measured in authentic brand culture and how and with whom you align your brand with whilst having a clear vision on current/past and even future human challenges. Just do it – Adidas!

#theguardian #adidas #bellahadid #brandculture #crisismanagement #corporatevalues #nike #brandcommunication #ethicalcodes #ESG