Background & Context

SWIMWEAR CATEGORY IS NOT INCLUSIVE OF WOMEN IN MENA.

Despite the MENA region being surrounded by beautiful beaches and pools, water activities have a limited appeal to women. Whilst other sports have adapted their product ranges to cater to the needs of women in MENA, the swimwear category hasn’t. Even with Nike’s launch of a modest swimwear collection for women back in 2019, more than 75% of women in MENA find the swimwear offering irrelevant to them.

ADIDAS IS LAUNCHING A NEW LINE OF VERSATILE SWIMWEAR INCLUSIVE OF ALL WOMEN.

Adidas believes that sports belong to all. On our mission to strive for inclusivity and closing the gender gap in sports, the brand created a new line of modest swimwear designed to achieve the perfect balance of fit, features, performance and coverage. The goal was to offer swimwear for all women in MENA regardless of shape, ability or belief, because nobody should be prevented from enjoying the benefits of being in and around the water.

BUT, BEYOND THE LIMITED OPTIONS OF INCLUSIVE SWIMWEAR, WOMEN DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE BEING IN OR AROUND WATER IN GENERAL.

While globally, 32% of women don’t feel comfortable wearing a swimsuit at a public beach or pool, in MENA the number is 88% (almost 3 times higher)!1,2 So, the availability of inclusive swimwear alone wouldn’t solve the problem of women in the region not participating in water activities.

Creative Challenge

How could our new inclusive line speak to the consumers who were reluctant to go around water and inspire them to embrace water with confidence?

Solution

To break the negative associations with water and turn it into place of personal comfort and freedom, we needed to influence culture and self-perception. This meant creating an idea that would influence people across channels, involve mass media coverage and leverage PR.

INTRODUCING THE FIRST-EVER SWIMMABLE BILLBOARD, THE SYMBOL OF LIBERATION FOR WOMEN IN WATER.

Execution

5-meters high and 3-meters deep swimmable billboard with 11,500 gallons of water. We placed the transparent billboard at one of the most visited beaches of the region, a place women associate with restrictions and judgment, and invited the women to take a public leap of faith into its depth and dive beyond the surface.

TURNING EVERY WOMAN WHO JUMPED, INTO AN AMBASSADOR OF THE NEW INCLUSIVE SWIMWEAR COLLECTION.

• We first opened the liquid billboard to Adidas’ ambassadors and key opinion leaders who were sent invites that could only be revealed through water.

• User-generated content on social aided in attracting more women to the beach to take a dive.

• Every swim was projected live on the country’s largest digital display above the Dubai Mall Ice Rink, next to the Adidas flagship store, allowing shoppers and mall-goers to enjoy the experience and inviting women shoppers to join.

• We then turned every swim into personalized posters that were used on our social media pages, website and app, making every woman the face of the new inclusive swimwear collection.