In a cluttered regional market saturated with global sneaker drops and influencer hype, adidas needed to make its region-exclusive Adizero Desert Runner stand apart. Traditional PR tactics wouldn’t suffice — the brand required a launch moment that embodied the UAE’s landscape and turned a niche performance shoe into a story of endurance, culture, and art.
The challenge lay in transforming a functional running shoe into a cultural artefact that resonated emotionally with a new generation of runners and creators — while proving that sustainability and spectacle could coexist.
We positioned the Adizero Desert Runner not as a product, but as a landmark moment, a collision of performance, purpose, and place.
Our strategy fused large-scale environmental art with earned-first storytelling:
Cultural Relevance: The desert became both stage and symbol, representing resilience, endurance, and local identity.
Sustainability & Craft: Partnering with earth artist David Popa, the campaign used only biodegradable pigments and natural materials, reinforcing adidas’ environmental values.
Earned-Led Amplification: Every creative choice, from the site in Sharjah’s Al Madam desert to the anamorphic perspective, was designed for organic content, media pickup, and influencer storytelling rather than paid visibility.
By bridging art, sport, and sustainability, the campaign reframed what a regional launch could be: a world-class cultural statement from the heart of the UAE.
Earned media and influencer features across regional and global outlets.
Total campaign reach across press, influencer, and athlete channels.
Total earned media value generated.
Total engagement.
Social video views.
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