Anthony Edwards and Adidas Inject New Life Into The Basketball Market
It’s gotta be the shoes. In just his fourth NBA season Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has released his first signature shoe with Adidas. The launch colorway of the AE 1 titled ‘With Love,’ which hit shelves in December, is dressed in black, and peach, with hits of pink. It honors Anthony Edwards’ mom and grandmother by using their favorite colors. The model boasts a futuristic design, a Yeezy-esq toebox, distinctive honeycomb side paneling, and tremendous performance features. All of these elements create what is one of the most interesting basketball shoes this year. On its own, the sneaker is an attractive option in the basketball marketplace. Its appearance is unlike anything seen before and it excels performance-wise just as it does aesthetically. The shoe is a maximalist design, it packs an incredible amount of tech into a $120 price tag. The shoe features a new Adidas cushioning system called ‘Jet Boost.’ This is a strategic combination of two Adidas foams, Boost and Lightstrike. Boost which is a denser foam aids in impact protection, and is placed in the heel of the shoe, while Lightstrike is a super-light midsole technology that provides athletes with superior cushioning and dynamic movement capabilities and is placed in the forefoot. The AE1 cushioning provides the best of both worlds, landing resistance in the heel and court feel in the forefoot. The shoe also has both top-loaded and bottom-loaded plastic shanks, meaning the shoe delivers arch support and significant energy return when running and jumping this leads to the shoes providing a bouncy feel. The shoe’s TPU cage and double heel counter mean the wearers foot is locked in place and protected from rolling or spraining. In a world that often pits form and function against one another, Adidas delivers both in the AE 1. All while maintaining an affordable price point.
The AE 1 was released in conjunction with a clever marketing campaign. It plays on Edwards’ confident personality while being reminiscent of old Michael Jordan ads. The campaign features three commercials. The first, unveiling the shoes in a Air Jordan 1 'Banned' style ad in which Edwards declares “I’m about to drop your favorite hoopers, favorite hoop shoe. Watch it here In the others that followed, Ant shows off what the shoes can do with the tagline, “Kids, when they say you can’t, tell ‘em Ant did” and dismisses other models from around the league before revealing his, exclaiming “No one touching the AE 1s.” The Adidas marketing team ought to be congratulating themselves. The AE 1 marketing materials are some of the best in recent memory. It plays on Ant’s self-assured demeanor and appeals to both the younger audience with which he is popular and an older audience that will recognize the similarities with the old Michael Jordan ads. It announces his arrival in the basketball silhouette marketplace, stakes a claim for greatness, and encourages you to have the same belief in yourself that Edwards’ has in himself. It brings an energy and a swagger back to a basketball marketplace that has long been unexciting. The clever pairing of Michael Jordan-inspired ads and Edwards’ personality was also showcased when the brand used its Twitter account to promote the shoes. A decision that was quickly axed after someone started getting into it with Phoenix Suns star and Nike athlete Kevin Durant, while still logged into the Adidas account. However, this was not before the internet took notice of the feud. Whether it was planned or simply something that got out of hand, we will never know but it was met with much positivity and ultimately competition is beneficial for both the brands and the consumers.
Marketing and storytelling elevate good shoes into great shoes, it can take an unexciting product and make it compelling or it can turn a home run into a grand slam. The AE 1 and everything surrounding it, help make the shoe a grand slam. Evidence of this is that the ‘With Love’ colorway sold out quickly and the second colorway the ‘New Wave’ sold out almost instantly last week. Luckily, for anyone hoping to pick up a pair, they will have plenty of opportunities to do so in 2024. The “Best of Adi” colorway, which is a black and white colorway nodding to the original colors of Adidas, and the “Velocity Blue” which is an all-blue colorway are both slated to release in early March. An iridescent colorway has also recently surfaced and is rumored to be a special All-Star Game iteration of the AE 1 which was announced this week to be releasing Febuary 17th. Propelled by Edwards’ stardom, a high-performing product, and its marketing genius Adidas has struck gold, something it has been searching for since Derrick Rose in the early 2010s. With perhaps the most memorable Adidas ad since the D'Rose 9.8 ad in 2011, Adidas and Anthony Edwards are poised for a takeover of the basketball marketplace. In the 2023-2024 NBA season, nearly a dozen or more signature shoes have been released or unveiled. This market saturation makes it difficult to stand out, especially with a debut shoe and not having a sector of consumers already aligned with your product line. Anthony Edwards and Adidas have managed to cut through the noise and rise to the top. Currently, Anthony Edwards and his Minnesota Timberwolves sit atop the NBA’s western conference, where his team will finish the season is still a mystery but his shoes seem well on their way to the number one spot as well. Believe that.
Check out images of the upcoming colorways of the AE 1 below, and let us know in the comments if you’re feeling the new model.
