Stuff We Like: 90s adidas Running Adverts

A classic ad campaign from the brand with the three stripes

Old running magazines are hardly renowned for great adverts. Between jargon-crammed technical overloads and discount deals for fluorescent jackets the pages of Runner’s World and the like weren’t exactly filled with groundbreaking advertising. Which is probably why this adidas campaign, created by San Francisco agency Leagas Delaney and art directed by Harry Cocciolo back in 1998 stood out so much.

Using the simple tagline of “Runners. Yeah, We’re Different.” right across the board, the adverts celebrated the weird, everyday aspects of running that real runners could relate to—and whilst the technicolour reportage-style photographs happened to show some of the quickest athletes of the day, they never focussed on celebrity or status.  

Here’s a few of ’em…

Read more about the history of the ad campaign here.

See some more classic adidas running ads over on Dave Dye’s blog.