We created a new kind of football; a format that lives and breathes the values of the revolution: Be The Difference football. This 2v2 game was judged on points in a similar way to boxing. It demanded the personal flair of a rap battle and was played in the intense atmosphere of basketball. Points were awarded for a piece of individual brilliance or ridiculous skill, a comeback from an impossible deficit or making your opponent look a fool. Chaos. Control. Attitude.

In a co-ordinated PR and social launch adidas’s global football ambassadors were supplied with toolkits arming them to announce that they were X or ACE. Social video content explored the chaos and control philosophies and the benefits offered by the boots.

Influencers were invited to take part in testing the boots, alongside consumers, in the 2v2 football played by the new rules.

New players types were established in key markets across the globe, with Be The Difference football reaching 14 countries on four continents. 26 events inspired influencers in adidas’ key cities. Each event generated a winner, the player who best brought Be The Difference to life in the 2v2 arena.

Fans who were unable to attend the events were able to experience the football revolution too. YouTube films were created to cover both aspects of the creative idea: the involvement of hero players and the consumer experience.

A revolution needs a mouthpiece and the campaign came into its own in social.

26 events were hosted in 14 countries on four continents, enabling hundreds of players to experience Be The Difference football in X and ACE.

Influencer video content generated 11,854,000 views.

adidas campaign content was viewed 10,586,000 times.

The hashtag #BeTheDifference has been used over 1.2m times on Twitter and 120k times on Instagram, eclipsing adidas’ viral success of There Will Be Haters (600k+ mentions) to firmly establish the new boots as adidas’ most socially successful football launch ever.