Social media feeds were full of Swooshes over the weekend as people posted Nike sneakers ad nauseam to celebrate the brand's Air Max Day on Sunday, March 26. Well, not all social media feeds—one young Adidas fan decided to do the opposite by creating the above video making fun of the marketing event.
The user behind the clip, 20-year-old Jemuel Wong, has owned Nikes before, but says that he's been fully devoted to Adidas for two years now. His devotion is literally branded on his skin—the man has an Adidas Trefoil logo tattooed on his ankle. But, he says he's not an Adidas employee and that the content was not officially backed by the brand.
The brand loyalist created the tongue-in-cheek spot to literally take the air out of a marketing push Nike spent millions on.
"The intent is to counteract the recent Air Max Day campaign that Nike has worked so hard on," Wong told Sole Collector via email. "I just find it incredibly ironic that they place such an emphasis on how great Nike Air is. I acknowledge Air's rich history; but in my opinion, Nike has failed to bring out any significant improvement or collaborations to honor their flagship model. Seeing them bring out retros of their most coveted models just seems like such a desperate act to revive sales."
Wong says another motivation behind the video was to draw the attention of Adidas. "I have received direct messages from different staff who work in Adidas HQ, and I feel honored that they have noticed a video I made in my garage."
The video generated a strong response on social media, the comments beneath it filled with people arguing the merits of Adidas and Nike.
While Adidas didn't make any overt moves against Air Max Day, it did load Saturday with surprise releases and restocks in what appeared to be a cleverly timed shot at the Swoosh.
