adidas is Welcomed into the Association of Music Producers Hall of Fame

adidas, the global athletic apparel powerhouse, will be inducted into the Association of Music Producers’ Hall of Fame at the 2024 AMP Awards for Music & Sound, taking place on May 15 at Sony Hall.

The AMP Hall of Fame honour is bestowed for Outstanding Achievement in the Use of Music to Define the Brand. Prior inductees into the Hall include Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Volkswagen, Chevrolet, Budweiser, Pepsi and Mars. The Hall of Fame trophy will be accepted by Rima Patel, Director of Storytelling – Cultural Collaborations & Partnerships, adidas Originals. To be honoured at the AMP Awards is a testament to an advertisers’ strategic understanding of the power of music and in aligning brand identity with consumer experience.

The Hall of Fame induction will be a high point of the 2024 AMP Awards ceremony, which includes live performances from established and emerging artists, special honours recognising achievement in music and sound and the presentation of winners across its 13 categories. In attendance will be approximately 400 professionals from the worlds of advertising, music production, record labels, music publishing and licensing. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased here.

adidas’ sophisticated use of music and sound to shape the image of their brand has been consistently recognised and honoured by festivals and competitions around the world, from Clio and Cannes to the One Show, D&AD, the AICP Show and the AMP Awards. Work for Adidas has twice been honoured with the AMP Awards’ Best in Show trophy – with “Original is Never Finished” in 2017 and “Remember the Why” in 2023.

“The advertising music industry acknowledges adidas for its longstanding faith and support, and for challenging its agencies and their chosen music and sound partners to achieve greater and greater impact with their messaging,” said Carol Dunn, president of the Association of Music Producers. “As discriminating juries around the world have shown, Adidas’ innovative expression of its brand, and its ability to connect with consumers on a deeply emotional level, has consistently risen above the rest. The power that music and sound plays in this equation cannot be overlooked, and it’s why this brand clearly belongs in our Hall of Fame.”

“Music is an integral part of a brand’s identity and expression, particularly important in storytelling,” said adidas’ Thomas Sailer, vice president, brand marketing. “adidas is a sports brand deeply rooted in culture, and especially connected to the influence of music on culture. This acknowledgement of our passion for music and strategic understanding of its communicative power by the Association of Music Producers brings us tremendous pride.”

“Original Is Never Finished,” created by Johannes Leonardo, was a bold creative statement that shook the ad industry on its debut. In addition to winning Best in Show at the AMP Awards, it also earned the Entertainment for Music Grand Prix in Cannes that year, among other honours. The brand is no stranger to acclaim at this global festival: it was proclaimed Advertiser of the Year in 2006, and took home another Cannes Lions Grand Prix, in the Outdoor category, in 2022. 

The brand has a long history of partnering with leading voices in pop culture, fashion and music to open a new avenue in the sports and athletic apparel and footwear marketplace. In 1986, it connected with the seminal hip-hop group Run – D.M.C., ushering in an era where sports meets streetwear. It’s gone on to partner with such design houses as Stella McCartney and Gucci to turn three stripes into as potent a force on the runway as on the pitch or on the courts. 

AMP is a non-profit trade organisation representing the largest and most influential music production entities and creators in the United States. It sponsors the AMP Awards, the ad industry’s only juried, non-profit competition dedicated to the recognition of excellence in music and sound for advertising, branding and media.

For more information on AMP and the AMP Awards, visit their website or check out their social media channels: LinkedIn, IG and Facebook. For sponsorship info, contact them at info@associationofmusicproducers.org.