ADIDAS; BREAK FREE

This week the Adidas break free advert must have captured the hearts of many, including mine. Going viral this week on Youtube., the key to a mans freedom was simple, a well worn pair of shoes. Advertising the quality item, long lasting and made for free spirits. Coming from the history of Adidas making a lot of Olympic marathon gear in the 70s whilst Nike did not. Selling the idea that Adidas can set you free. However with a little help from some emotive tactics. Created by students at Germany's film academy of Baden-Württemberg. An advert which grips you start to finish and really makes you feel for the man, it pulls on the heartstrings and conveys a strong message of human experience: ageing.

The elderly man only wanted a moment away from his dreary life, where he sat surrounded by others counting down the hours while dreaming of past glories. An old pair of Blue and White Adidas Trainers from his former active days as a marathon runner, every day he builds up his strength and attempts at every opportunity he has to run and break free from the retirement home which holds him prisoner. In time with help from friends noticing his struggle and his Trusty trainers, he breaks free descending into the horizon.

The idea behind the advert: Quoted from ADWEEK.com

AdFreak spoke to fourth-year film student Eugen Merher, who wrote and directed the spot, to learn more about the inspiration and process behind the work.

AdFreak: How did you come up with the idea for this film? Eugen Merher: I had a distant relative who passed away last year, and he was the main inspiration. He was an old man with a very young spirit who used to walk two kilometers every day and bring his wife flowers, was very up on the news and loved to watch basketball. I combined him with the idea that running or playing sports makes you feel free, because that's what I've always thought. There's also a German feature film called Sein letztes Rennen (His Last Race) about an old marathon runner who lives in a retirement castle and wants to run a race in there, but I didn't know about this film until mid-production and I chose not to watch it so I wouldn't subconsciously copy it.

“Everyone, everywhere, is young at heart. No matter what age, or what you look like, this part of yourself never dies. It can always be activated.”