Adidas has never just sold sneakers. It sells culture, it sells memory, it sells the feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself. With its latest Originals campaign, the Three Stripes went all in. No color, no fluff, just raw black-and-white frames and a cast of icons who feel like they were pulled from different universes but somehow belong in the same story.

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The world got its first look at Superstar: The Original. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson in his trademark thunder, the film unfolds like a manifesto.

You’ve got Missy Elliott, rap royalty who’s been pushing boundaries since the 90s. Anthony Edwards, the NBA’s human highlight reel and face of the future. JENNIE from BLACKPINK, bringing the K-pop wave straight into sneaker lore. Skate legend Mark Gonzales, the guy who made concrete his canvas. And fresh blood like GloRilla and Teezo Touchdown, artists who don’t just ride culture but bend it.

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Why Strip the Color?

Here’s the thing: adidas could’ve gone full neon, CGI, hyper-slick edits. But instead, they went monochrome. Directed by Thibaut Grevet, the two films—Pyramids and Clocks—reduce everything down to light, shadow, and silhouette. It feels intentional. The Superstar, born in 1969, started in black and white. Bringing it back to that palette is like saying: strip away the noise, and the design still speaks.

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Adidas Is Playing the Long Game

If last year’s “You Got This” campaign was about the pressure of performance with Messi, Bellingham, and Wirtz reminding us that even gods of the game need belief. This year is about legacy. The shift is subtle but powerful: from how you survive the moment to how you outlast the moment.

he Superstar isn’t trending because TikTok decided it was. It’s trending because it’s outlived waves, fads, and cycles. Adidas knows it, and this campaign is their way of putting a stake in the ground

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So What’s Next?

Watching the campaign, it feels like adidas isn’t just asking us to buy a shoe. It’s asking us to think about who gets to define originality in a culture that moves at lightning speed.

Is it the brands? The artists? Or the kids remixing everything on their phones until it becomes something new?

The Superstar has been around for over five decades, and this film reminds us why. But it also leaves the door open, almost daring us to answer the question for ourselves:

In 2025 and beyond, who really decides what’s original?

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