Adidas: Chasing 100

THE BRIEF

adidas boasts world-class innovation powering elite performances on the global running stage. To promote the fact that innovation excellence is at its heart, adidas embarked on a unique ultrarunning project, roadtesting its finest technology. Set on the Nardo ring, a high-speed test track typically used by cars and motorcycles, adidas set out on a bold mission to showcase the limits of human potential by powering the first athlete to run 100km in under 6 hours.We had to tell this story through a social-first lens, driving brand credibility with a lasting impact.

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Our Approach

We decided to rethink the running narrative through a motorsport lens. We zeroed in on showing performance as a team effort, powered by precision and data. Just like an F1 team is composed of drivers, engineers and mechanics, we positioned our innovation team as the hero. Athletes, scientists, innovators with a shared drive to go faster – and one common dream: “To break the speed barrier for 100km.” This enabled us to reframe our storytelling beyond innovation, shifting focus on the radical humans that make innovation and performance possible.




Execution

We titled the mission ‘Chasing 100’, in recognition of the 100km distance but also the pursuit to exceed the limits of human potential – the 100%. We ensured every element of this journey was captured from the training camp to the race itself, filming interviews with athletes representing four continents and witnessing adidas’s state-of-the-art technology in action. 

We recruited an F1 favourite – Valtteri Bottas – as our host, known for embarking on mad endurance challenges. In the build up, we documented Bottas’s visit to the Innovation HQ to build teaser content and a three-part episodic series for Instagram; we set him loose on TikTok to answer the big questions. 

When the jaw dropping moment of ultramarathon history happened – Sibusiso Kubheka’s 5:59:20 record run – we captured amazing reactive photography and footage, brought the conversation seamlessly into Strava, and published bespoke content across all platforms. Finally, we released the full Chasing 100 documentary. A crafted, long-form film our audiences were clamouring for – a deeper dive behind the mission, the athletes, the tech, the training and the race.