With Stormzy recently headlining Glastonbury over the weekend, and a host of other urban acts performing at what is known as a predominantly ‘guitar/rock band’ festival, is urban culture the preferred go to in our society?
Music, film, sports, fashion, no matter where you look in popular culture, you can’t help but notice major influences that can be traced back to urban culture. Even in ad land when marketing to consumers, brands have certainly leaned towards an urban makeup within their content. With Nike releasing their iconic ‘Nothing Beats A Londoner’ advert last year, featuring the crème de la crème of the urban music and social influencer scene mixed in with notable Nike ambassadors, it seems their closest rivals Adidas have pulled from the same creative pool with the launch of their new kit deal with Arsenal Football Club.
The £300 million kit deal was launched today with a clever ad paying homage to when Arsenal used to wear an Adidas kit in the 90’s during a more successful period for the club, whilst mixing conversation back and forth with the current players and a few legends like Tony Adams and Ian Wright. What was striking though, was that the voices of the current players that featured in the promo were substituted largely for ones with more urban slang and expressions, making the ad on trend, and had it stand out like Nike’s ‘Nothing Beats A Londoner.’ Being a London team in the heart of Islington Borough, It wouldn’t sound foreign to hear local youth talking with the dialects and slang used in the ad. Check it out for yourself https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VLZeTOID0jU .
Where Adidas were spot on, other brands have certainly failed in trying to incorporate urban culture, whether it be the language, fashion or even mannerisms. This can make or break hitting your intended target as authenticity is very important when using and targeting an urban audience.
We predict we will see many more urban driven campaigns from major brands over the next five years as pop culture continues to gravitate towards all things urban, as the key purchasing demographic continue to be influenced by the urban culture.
