Brave Or Brazen? Adidas’ Sports Bra Campaign Divides Opinion
Last week Adidas announced the complete reengineering of their sports bra range, offering 43 new styles in 72 different sizes. But the campaign has received a mixed reception, due to its use of nudity on social media and billboards.
The sportswear brand, who assembled an all-female team for the project, joined forces with University of Portsmouth to highlight the importance of proper breast support, and the profound benefits this can have on sports participation and performance for both women and girls.
According to their research, if breasts aren’t supported properly during exercise, they can move up to 19cm and can experience the same G force as an F1 driver. Yes you read that correctly. An F1 driver! And just as staggering, when a woman runs a marathon, their breasts can move an extra four miles if not supported properly.
These findings not only showed the stress the female body goes through, but also shows a historical lack of research carried out in sports bra development. All of this has led to the 43 new styles in 18 different product franchises, to better serve Adidas’ female customer base. And for such a product overhaul, they went bold with their advertising.
#SupportIsEverything Campaign
The campaign launched with a simple 30 second film exploring different types of support: self-belief, family, or love. It featured a host of different women sporting the new range, including professional athletes and pioneering model Ellie Goldstein.
On Instagram, the brand then posted some beautifully shot images showing the marks an ill-fitting bra can leave on an athletes skin. “The best part of your workout shouldn't be taking your sports bra off” the post read.
But it was the tweet that ensued that got people talking all over the internet: a 5X5 grid with different shape and colour bare breasts. The tweet read “We believe women’s breasts in all shapes and sizes deserve support and comfort. Which is why our new sports bra range contains 43 styles, so everyone can find the right fit for them.”
Reaction
The latter post drew a lot of attention and sparked different conversations around online censorship, purpose marketing and whether this campaign was designed for clicks rather than the cause itself. On one side of the fence, Stylist’s Chloe Gray applauded the campaign, citing that breast concerns are the fourth greatest barrier to exercise for women, and a campaign like this gives real bodies the representation they deserve.
“We want to celebrate the fact that all boobs are being welcomed into the world of exercise. And anything that helps more women feel represented and confident enough to start moving is a win for us.”
While advertising Creative Director, Natalie Gordon loved the photography featuring skin indentations because of how simply it captured what the new range combats, but she was a little more hesitant giving the bare-chested tweet praise, asking:
“How sad is it that in a world where a brand is genuinely doing good, instead of showing the product doing good, it needs to use naked female bodies to garner attention?”
Whichever side of the fence you sit on, there’s no doubting the message Adidas is trying to express, and the way they’ve re-engineered their sport bra range can only be a good step towards making more people comfortable and motivated to exercise.
