Adidas Originals Films Embody Detroit’s Creative Renaissance

Adidas Originals and Johannes Leonardo recently tapped IDENTITY’s Philip Andelman to direct a contemporary campaign that captures the minimalist philosophy of Adidas Originals’ EQT line. The five-spot campaign expresses the creative spirit of Detroit, a forward-look city in the midst of an innovative rebirth, by featuring local artists and musicians. The campaign premiered on Instagram and is available to watch online here. 

“The whole theory of the EQT brand is that it’s rooted in stripped down, sparse essentialism,” said Director Andelman, “The first EQT line was born in Berlin in the early 90s, and when it was relaunched last year, Adidas Originals picked Detroit as EQT’s new home base. They’re like sister cities, raw and real, undergoing a rebirth and fostering thriving artistic communities. It’s always been a dream of mine to shoot in Detroit, and I really connected with the philosophy behind the EQT brand.”

Filmed on location, the campaign includes four 15-second spots that are mini portraits of local Detroit talent, including rapper Danny Brown, musician and creative Angel Haze, artist Tiff Massey and musician and producer Jay Daniel. The campaign embraces the undying spirit of Detroit, a city infused with soul, rising up from the ashes, as seen through the eyes of the featured artists. A longer 60-second spot culminates the creative philosophies of all four artists, shot in stripped-down locations throughout the city.

“The locations were breathtaking, haunting and beautiful. It’s easy to show ruins in Detroit, but we wanted to show a city ready to blossom and on the verge of a revival,” noted Andelman, “I worked closely with the DP, my friend Max Goldman, to select stark, empty locations that didn’t feel like ruins, and instead expressed a sense of hope that there’s a birth taking place in the city.”

The sparse locations are paired with a soft, echoed soundtrack, creating an empty canvas for an artistic renaissance in the city fueled by innovative growth and transformation.