Inside the adidas Originals x Oasis Campaign That Lives Forever
Is there a bigger global cultural moment in 2025 – or beyond – than the Oasis reunion? When the Gallagher brothers announced their long-awaited return to the stage, the reaction was instant and deafening. For original fans, it was a jolt of pure ’90s adrenaline. For a new generation, it was a chance to witness a band whose mythology has long outgrown its discography.
Unsurprisingly, brands have seized the moment. This almighty comeback has sparked a wave of official collaborations – and a fair few opportunistic nods, such as Lidl making sure they don’t miss out on the action.
But amid the sea of brand tie-ins, one partnership stands out – not just for its timing, but for its authenticity. adidas, specifically its Originals brand, is no gatecrasher to this party.
"adidas has a long-standing association with the band," says Steve Marks, senior director brand communications at adidas UK, speaking with LBB. "Look through any back catalogue and the plethora of images taken of the band over the '90s and early 2000s and you will find adidas as the constant throughout time. As a brand deeply rooted in music culture and a brand highly visible in the big moments of time, it was a very quick internal ‘yes’ when we looked at the opportunity to be part of this moment."
Dubbed 'Original Forever', the adidas Originals x Oasis Live ’25 collection is a co‑branded 26‑piece range inspired by 30 years of Oasis and adidas’ cultural history. “The relationship between adidas and Oasis is rooted in a shared cultural DNA – where football, fashion, and music collide,” says Steve. “In the ‘90s, Oasis embodied a distinctly British style born on the football terraces, where adidas was already a staple. The Gallaghers wore adidas not for endorsement, but because it was authentic to who they were. That organic connection evolved into a lasting cultural alignment.”
To support the collection, adidas enlisted long-time partner Johannes Leonardo, a New York agency with a knack for capturing moments in the British zeitgeist, to craft a campaign that suggests the modern fan experiences the same cultural energy that fuelled the Oasis heyday. And while the excitement around the reunion and the natural fit between Oasis and adidas might make this sound like an ‘easy win’, that anticipation came with serious pressure from devoted fanbase.
“This isn’t just a fanbase – it’s a fiercely loyal tribe with high expectations and sharp instincts for anything inauthentic. That level of cultural sensitivity shaped every decision we made,” says Steve. “Creating both a tour merchandise range and a supporting brand campaign required precision.”
“So much of advertising is about getting people to care – grabbing their attention and holding onto it for dear life,” adds Jeph Burton, executive creative director at Johannes Leonardo. “With this, we had the rare gift of an audience that already cared. Deeply, as it happens. adidas fans. Oasis fans. People who don’t just buy into things, they believe in them. That kind of passion doesn’t make the job easier – it makes it matter more.”
This meant that every decision Jeph and the team made had to be sharp, honest and exactly right. They anchored the approach around three Rs: ’Rejoice’ with the original fans, ‘Remind’ those who missed it the first time, and ’Reimagine’ for a new generation coming into the world of Oasis for the first time. The product had to feel rooted in real moments – from Knebworth to Wembley – while the campaign needed to balance nostalgic emotion with modern relevance. Authenticity wasn’t a theme; it was critical for every creative and commercial decision that was made.
“When you’re working with icons,” says Jeph, “the margin for error disappears. It’s like drawing a perfect circle. Looks simple. But try doing it: anything off, and people feel it instantly.”
The process didn’t begin with a pitch – more so a shared instinct. Johannes Leonardo had been thinking about what a reunion between Oasis and the Three Stripes could mean, and it turned out that so too had adidas. What started as a conversation quickly turned into a riff, and then into something real. adidas began building the Live ’25 collection with Noel and Liam, and from there it took off.
The three-minute central film – set to a remarkable arrangement of Oasis’ iconic 1994 hit ‘Live Forever’ – follows a group of fans as they journey through the band’s legendary eras. Beginning in the present, they’re transported back to pivotal moments: crowd surfing at Knebworth, singing along at Wembley, and riding the same cultural currents that defined Oasis’s peak.
The idea was sparked by something Noel once said: ‘People will never ever forget the way that you made them feel.’ “That became our North Star,” says Jeph. “Because this campaign wasn’t about a comeback – it was about a feeling. The kind that started in 1992 and still pulses through speakers, stadiums, and memories today.
“It’s that feeling you get in the pit,” he adds, “lifted above the crowd, sweat in your eyes, and somehow – for a second – it’s just you and the band. Nothing else exists. That’s the moment we wanted to bottle. That’s what lives forever. And that’s what made this idea feel right.”
They kept going back to ‘The Original’, the positioning of the adidas Originals label: ‘the ones that carve their own way through the world and stand apart from the crowd, simply by being themselves’. “We wanted to capture the joy, euphoria, and passion of yesteryear and excite fans as to what is to come with this moment in time,” says Steve. “Our vehicle, a crowd surfer – in fact, many crowd surfers – captured through time as they make their way to the front of the gig to lock eyes with their idols.”
As an ageing millennial, the spot delivered gut punches of nostalgia to parts of my body I forgot I could feel. Gigs of yesteryear felt so different to today, and it can be difficult to capture that vibe without being all preachy and annoying to the viewer. “It's never about nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake,” says Celia Mortlock, associate creative director at Johannes Leonardo. “It’s about curating the energy of those moments, not just the look. Because the kids at the first Oasis gigs weren’t thinking, ‘This is the start of a legacy.’ They were thinking, ‘These guys are sick.’”
That’s the spirit that Celia and the team chased – not a history lesson, not a brand film in disguise. Just the raw, sweaty, electric feeling of being there – of being part of it. “That’s what made those gigs different,” she says. “And that’s what we tried to tap into without over-explaining it. We didn’t want to say, ‘those were the days.’ We wanted to make people feel them again.”
The aim with the film was to blur the lines between what was archival footage and shot. One of the first things the team saw when they were researching was a girl crowd surfing at Glastonbury in the ‘90s in a pair of adidas trainers. “She was just living in the moment,” says Celia. “You could just feel her energy all these years later. We weren’t trying to source what happened; we wanted to show what was felt in those moments.”
Celia and the team used those hours of archival as inspiration for every production touchpoint. Everyone in casting, styling, hair and make-up, and production design were “superfans in their own right”, and understood the vibe from day dot. “Fans of the band and the brand can smell fakery a mile off,” says Celia. “So it couldn’t just look the part… We had to make it live in their heads like something they’d actually been part of.”
To bring their vision to life, ProdCo’s Leigh Powis was brought on board as director, whose eye, instinct and excitement was palpable from the get-go. “Every idea, every frame came from a place of genuine love for the music, the fandom, the brand, and for what this moment could mean,” says Jeph.
The image of the crowd surfers moving toward the stage, the brothers moving toward the spotlight, and the two finally meeting in 2025 were all the ideas and work of Leigh. “That was the soul of the story,” says Jeph. “Because there’s no Oasis comeback without the fans. And there’s no fan reunion without the band. Leigh understood that instantly.”
The soundtrack required no discussion – it was always ‘Live Forever’, not just because it’s iconic but because it says so much about what this moment is all about. “‘You and I are gonna live forever’ isn’t just a lyric,” says Austin Haas, associate creative director at Johannes Leonardo. “It’s a feeling. A belief. Whether you’re screaming it in a stadium, humming it alone, or hearing it stitched into a film edit – it makes you feel like you’re part of something that won’t fade.”
And that’s what the Three Stripes represent too, adds Austin. “They were worn then. They’re worn now. And they’ll still mean something tomorrow.”
Steve, Jeph, Celia, Austin and the wider adidas and Johannes Leonardo teams have been delighted with the response to the campaign – not just because it’s been overwhelmingly positive but because they feel it has reflected the emotional and cultural intent behind the work. From the outset, they knew this campaign had to do more than promote a product – it had to feel like a moment.
“The reaction across generations has been extraordinary,” says Steve. “My teenage nieces are talking about it, as is my mum – that kind of multi-generational connection is rare, and speaks to the cultural weight Oasis carries.”
The timing of the launch was critical. They knew they needed to ignite the conversation, not just join it. From casting the brand film, where the energy was electric even three months ahead, to the rollout across retail, out of home, and digital – every touchpoint was crafted to amplify that sense of anticipation.
“Ultimately, we captured a feeling,” Steve. “Nostalgia and excitement, grounded in authenticity. And that’s what’s landed.”
“It helps when everyone who touched the project is absolutely buzzing to be part of it, including the 300 extras,” adds Austin. “We set out to capture a feeling across a single crowd over four decades. To show the bond between Oasis and their fans stretching across generations, decades, and cultures. It’s a story adidas is so uniquely poised to tell, and we were proud to bring it to the world.”
“The right song choice, storyline, team, ethos and aligned vision. Sounds easy, right?,” ponders Steve.
“From the sheer effort in pulling together a wardrobe that reflected the eras, to casting hundreds for the film, from the sifting through of the archive to ensuring that the film had moments that made your hairs stand up on end – all critical elements.”
However the one thing that they continually fell back on was that they absolutely were not creating a documentary film about the history of the band.
“Our role is to celebrate this moment in time,” says Steve, “putting the adidas Originals brand front and centre of the process and being ‘the’ brand associated with this amazing music talent. Oasis – the BAND with three stripes.”
