Who made adidas, and how do you pronounce it?
It’s a popular but unfounded myth that adidas stands for “All Day I Dream About Sports.” While it’s nice to believe that one of the world’s foremost athletic brands got its name from such a punchy tagline, the truth is that adidas is loosely named after its founder, a German shoe-repairman-turned-entrepreneur named Adolf Dassler who more commonly went by the name Adi. Adi Dassler… Adi… Das… Get it? In case you’re having trouble with your enunciation, the brand is technically pronounced “uh-dee-duhs,” which is just a slight deviation from the Germanic root.
Who owns adidas?
adidas is and was partially owned by French businessman Bernard Tapie, who sold his stake in the company in 1993 and has since been both accused and cleared of fraud. Herbert Hainer, the current president of FC Bayern Munich, was once the former Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Where is adidas made, and how is adidas practicing sustainability?
While adidas is German in its origins, it is manufactured all over the globe, with production facilities in China, Japan, Canada, and America. adidas is also a company that exercises environmentally sustainable business practices, both in terms of the products it creates, in addition to the brand’s overarching artistic philosophy.
- According to the official Environmental Approach laid out on the company’s website, adidas has stated that they hope to “reduce water accessibility and quality by 35%” this year.
- adidas is also a company that is sensitive to climate change and its trickle-down effects. As such, they’ve stated in the previously mentioned Environmental Approach that they are committed to keeping CO2 emissions to an absolute bare minimum.
- The company is also a proponent of and advocate for clean energy, and has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the crucial next few years that may or may not determine the fate of our planet.
Who are the famous faces of adidas?
Over the years, adidas has partnered with a variety of some of the world’s most influential figures to bolster the profile of their brand.
- Beyoncé, arguably the world’s most beloved entertainer and performer, partnered with the company in 2019 for the relaunch of her iconic Ivy Park brand.
- Rap superstar Pusha T is the man partially behind adidas’ stylish and coveted “King Push” Ozweego kicks, and “Atlanta” mastermind and creative multihyphenate Donald Glover teamed up with the company in the spring of last year.
- There is also the brilliant and controversial Kanye West, whose partnership with adidas has been both widely publicized and criticized. If nothing else, West’s iconoclastic Yeezy shoes have not only helped to define what adidas as a company is capable of on a creative level, they are essentially a reinvention of what shoe wear can be, and what it should or should not look like.
How to identify fake and original adidas?
Of course, there are plenty of fugazi adidas products out there, and it’s important to be able to separate the real from the fake, as is the case with anything in life. There are a couple big tip-offs when it comes to differentiating genuine, legitimate adidas products from knockoffs.
There are a couple of big things to look for:
- Does the logo look like the trademark adidas logo?
- Do your shoes come with a pair of backup laces?
- Have you studied the stitching?
If you remain uncertain as to whether or not the adidas shoes you have are real or not, it never hurts to cross-reference your purchase with the official branded items listed on the company’s site.
In terms of its product line, adidas is also distinguished by printing the numerical digits that correspond to its model on the product itself (this is generally the case with adidas shoes, although it’s true for other products as well). More often than not, adidas products have serial numbers attached to the tag on the item, which is helpful if you end up having an issue with your purchase. Many adidas shoes, for example, have different numbers on the left and right foot. Identifying adidas-branded products that do not have these numbers can, but is not always guaranteed to identify adidas items that are illegitimate or counterfeit.
What is the adidas slogan?
adidas has had a few different slogans over the years:
- One of their most well known ones was a nifty inversion of the well-worn maxim that “nothing is impossible.” The company’s former tagline reverts that philosophy, reading, “impossible is nothing.” Clever, isn’t it? What does adidas mean when they say “nothing is impossible?” It means the goals that a person sets for himself or herself, no matter how daunting or seemingly impossible to achieve they may be, are ultimately achievable through hard work, commitment, and focus.
- Other taglines include “adidas Is All In,” which became the company’s global marketing shorthand sometime in the early 2010’s, and “Creating The New,” which was launched in 2015.
Simply put, adidas is one of the foremost trailblazers in the world of athletic apparel, and they’ve set a standard that similar companies will be following for years to come. That’s why some sports freaks spend All Day Dreaming About adidas.
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