Coke Collab With 3 Stripes

It doesn’t get much better than an ice-cold Coca-Cola in the middle of the summer.

And as we look past the cold of the coming winter, when holiday commercials will no doubt show polar bears frolicking in the snow with bottles of Coke or Santa trading milk for soda, the world’s most famous soft drink brand is gearing up to toast the return of the warm months with a co-branded collab on a freshly cracked pack of adidas sneakers. 

The Coca-Cola x adidas Collection features six shoes, two Sambas, two Superstars, an F50 Sala, and an Adistar Control 5. 

And they are designed with mixtures of the brand’s iconic red, silver, and black color combo. The two Superstars are split, with one designed like a Coke Zero can, with a black upper and silver Three Stripes, and the other done in weathered white with a Coke script logo on the side panel. 

One pair of Sambas copies the Superstar with a Coke Zero colorway, while the other goes a more Coca-Cola Classic route in red with all-over print Coca-Cola script logos across the upper and black side panel stripes. The F50 Sala was designed for fans of Diet Coke, in a silver colorway with red accents, while the Adistar Control 5 brings back the Coca-Cola Classic blend with a red upper and white accents. 

The Coca-Cola x adidas Collection will be released June 06, 2026 through Adidas and select retailers in-store and online. 

Available in men’s sizing, the retail prices are set at $110 for the black Samba, $130 for the red Samba, $120 for the black Superstar, $130 for the white Superstar, and $140 each for the F50 Sala and Control 5. 

Yesterday at Anfield, Hugo Ekitike scored twice as Liverpool beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0. 

A header from Joe Gomez found the Frenchman, who took one touch and volleyed into the net after just 46 seconds. And then on 60 minutes, he was unmarked when he nodded Mohamed Salah's corner in at the back post, handing the Egyptian the record for the most Premier League goal involvements, i.e., 277 (188 goals, 89 assists) for a single club .

(Note: Salah was among the substitutes but he took to the field to replace the injured Joe Gomez in the 26th minute). 

The win takes Liverpool sixth in the Premier League table on 26 points.

Pearly-Thinaah Are World No. 2

Malaysia's top women's double pair Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan have risen to a career-high world number two in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Tuesday.  

The last time a Malaysian women's pair ranked this high was in 2009, when Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty reached world No. 1. 

Liverpool concluded their pre-season two-game tour of Asia yesterday when they ran out 3-1 winners over Yokohama F Marinos. 

The victory wasn't really a surprise given that the Japanese side are struggling domestically this season. Currently, they're in the J1 League relegation zone and three points from safety! 

On Saturday, the Reds had taken on AC Milan in another friendly but suffered a 4-2 loss in China's Hong Kong SAR. 

The South China Morning Post had reported that both Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk gave Hong Kong the seal of approval as a pre-season destination – but when the English champions were defeated by the Serie A side, there were grumbles about the Kai Tak Stadium pitch!

Liverpool will begin their Premier League title defense at home against Bournemouth on August 15. 

But before that, on August 10 is the English Community Shield clash with FA Cup winners Crystal Palace at Wembley. Yes, it's a glorified friendly, but it's still a chance of a "trophy" and an opportunity to head into the new Premier League season full of confidence. 

And the Reds will be wearing their new Adidas away kit.

German Football Ditches Adidas for Nike

The decades-long kit supply tie-up between German football’s governing body, the German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fußball-Bund) and German sportswear giant Adidas, one of the most renowned technical deals in sport, will come to an end after the 2026 World Cup. 

Sportswear rivals Nike will take over as kit and equipment supplier to the DFB for the 2027-34 cycle. Nike will equip all German national representative sides and “promote German soccer in its entirety”, the DFB have announced. 

The annual value of the Nike-DFB deal will reportedly be at least €100 million ($108.1 million).

German teams have used Adidas products at all major FIFA World Cups dating back to 1954, but the DFB have said that Nike made “the best economic offer” for the cycle following on from the 2026 World Cup (to be held in Mexico, the US, and Canada). 

Of course lah, money can move mountains! And it's a Nike win over Adidas!

GlobalData Sport analyst Conrad Wiacek stated: “The German FA's decision to move away from Adidas shows that no deal in sport is safe. While tradition and long-standing relationships play a huge role, the reality is that more often than not, the biggest cheque will win".

Not surprisingly, the deal was criticized by German politicians, with German economy minister Robert Habeck saying he would have “liked a bit more local patriotism”, while Health Minister Karl Lauterbach called the decision “wrong”.

To quote King Solomon, "money answers all things"!

Brands Go Woke

Whether you like it or not, major American brands are now increasingly partnering with transgender actors and influencers in their ad campaigns, with massive support from the LGBTQ community and its allies. It is said this is all about inclusivity.

 

Companies like Pantene, Gillette, Citi, and Adidas have all made headlines for hiring trans actors and pledging their support. The latest furore is over trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney who shared sponsored Instagram posts promoting “her” brand deals with Bud Light and Nike and "she" was fiercely shamed and slammed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Mulvaney found "her" posts flooded with aggressive comments and threats to boycott the said companies. Countless videos appeared online showing Bud Light beer being dumped into the trash and pouring it down the drain. Former Olympic champs, including swimmer Sharron Davies and decathlete Caitlyn Jenner, criticized the sponsorships and misgendered Mulvaney. Even singer Kid Rock used Bud Light cans for target practice, opening fire on them in protest.

 

Despite the backlash, advertising shows no sign of slowing down in trans representation and continues to symbolize allyship. 

 

I read in Time on April 08 that “transgender representation in advertising has come a long way over the decades since subtle, queer-coded messaging first began popping up 40 years ago and when marketers described it as “our little secret” in the 1990s. Estimates show that the global LGBTQ community has at least $3.7 trillion in purchasing power and data indicates that compared to generic ads, queer-inclusive ads can help consumers remember brands better, inspire higher-priced purchases and foster a more progressive company image”. 

 

It is reportedly, a smart business decision. A 2022 study by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), on December 13 released data from their survey conducted in collaboration with global research center, The Edelman Trust Institute. It is a study that focused on Americans’ attitudes toward the LGBTQ community, and the data revealed strong support for businesses that publicly align themselves with and speak out on behalf of the LGBTQ community. 

 

According to the study, 53% of Americans expect CEOs to inform and shape conversations and policy debates about LGBTQ rights. 59% say that if businesses devoted significant resources to protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community, they could have a positive impact. 

 

Additionally, 18-34-year-olds are nearly twice as likely than the general population to say that protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community should be a top priority for brands when it comes to allocating money and resources. 

 

Furthermore, findings from the survey even claim that Americans are twice as likely to buy or use a brand if the brand publicly supports and demonstrates a commitment to expanding and protecting LGBTQ rights. 

 

Queer-rights activists have long understood that transgender and nonbinary people, along with people of color, consistently suffer the most discrimination within the queer community. For them, brands are part of the effort to promote cultural acceptance of queer identity. 

 

Still, the backlash targeted at Mulvaney as well as Bud Light and Nike is not expected to last too long. “When we see these social-media firestorms, a lot of times they’re very short in nature”, argued Beth Fossen, an assistant professor of marketing at Indiana University.

 

For good measure, she even added that some research has shown that in some instances, a practice known as “buycotting” – in which consumers purchase something they wouldn’t normally buy as a show of support in response to a boycott – outweighs the effects of boycotting campaigns.

 

What I can conclude is, shout and scream all you want – but it won’t make any difference. The US, it appears, has decided to go full woke.

The Next Sustainable Fashion Material

Plant-based leathers have the potential to revolutionize the fashion industry. 

Now, MycoWorks, a California, US-based biotech company, have created a new eco-friendly, vegan leather derived from fungi. Currently marketed as a luxury fabric, it can be grown to order.

The leather turns mycelium – threads from the root structure of mushrooms – into a material that imitates the look and feel of animal-based leather, reports Jess Cartner-Morley for the Guardian. 

"It's the first time that a company is able to produce a vegetal product which is matching or even exceeding the quality and durability and aesthetics of a natural one. It's a super achievement", Patrick Thomas, former Hermés CEO and a MycoWorks board of directors’ member, said in a statement. 

While the material is mushroom-based, MycoWorks create their rigid, patented material using engineered mycelium cells. As the cells grow into 3-D structures, they become densely intertwined, eventually forming a tough material, dubbed Fine Mycelium, which has the strength, durability, and performance of traditional leather, according to the MycoWorks website. 

In fact, Fine Mycelium can be tanned and finished to look and feel like animal leather's unique grain. The result is the product MycoWorks call Reishi™️, a leather that is processed using chromium-free chemistry, a chemical found in tannery wastewater, reports Frances Solá-Santiago for Refinery29.

 

The vegan leather has already made a high fashion debut. In March 2021, luxury fashion brand Hermés debuted their Victoria bag, which featured MycoWork's Fine Mycelium material, reports Olivia Rosane for EcoWatch.

Other companies, including Adidas' with their Mylo-made Stan Smith shoes and Lululemon with their mushroom-based yoga products, have likewise jumped on the eco-friendly bandwagon, per Refinery29. 

Note that it differs from other types of vegan leather made with mushrooms. Most mushroom leather is made from a compressed solid foam that mycelium forms naturally, but without engineering, it lacks the same look and feel as other animal and synthetic leathers.

Adidas Bare Boobs Ad

Adidas caused a stir in February with a series of ads which used bare breasts and nipples to promote their new sports bra range comprising 43 different styles and 72 sizes. 

The “Support Is Everything” push was first unveiled as a billboard at Adidas’ Germany headquarters as a photo gallery featuring dozens of breasts – from old to young, breastfeeding to breast cancer survivor. At the time, the creative split opinion, with some commentators pitting them as ground-breaking and others claiming they were “objectification sold as liberation”. 

Since their launch, the ads have run globally online and in posters throughout Europe, including in the UK. 

Now, following 24 complaints, the campaign has been banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring explicit nudity in settings where the ads could likely be seen by children. 

There were two main grievances the watchdog considered. The first challenged whether Adidas’ use of nudity was harmful or objectified women by sexualizing them or “reducing them to body parts”. The second issue centered around whether the posters had been displayed in areas that were appropriate for display where they could be viewed by kids. 

Adidas said the ads were not intended to be gratuitous but designed instead to reflect the diversity of breast shapes and sizes. They maintained they hadn’t placed the ads near schools or religious venues, acknowledging the risk of using nudity for commercial reasons. They also didn’t believe the ads would cause distress to children. 

Though the ASA agreed with the brand that the ads weren’t sexual or objectifying, they said the ads had not been targeted carefully enough based on their explicitness. They also upheld the second complaint, saying the ads were likely to cause “widespread” offense in the media, particularly where they could be seen by minors. 

As the ASA said on Wednesday: "We noted the breasts were the main focus in the ads, and there was less emphasis on the bras themselves, which were only referred to in the accompanying text". 

Adidas have been warned not to run the ads in the UK and to ensure they targeted “responsibly” in the future. 

In response, Adidas UK said the images were intended to "reflect and celebrate different shapes and sizes, illustrate diversity and demonstrate why tailored support bras were important". 

They said the images had been cropped to protect the identity of the models and to ensure their safety, adding that all the models shown had volunteered to be in the ad and were supportive of its aims. 

At least we know there are twenty-four prudish Brits who are not in favor of a public display of bare boobs!

Limited Edition M&M’s x Adidas Sneakers

German sportswear group Adidas are collaborating with Mars Wrigley for their latest footwear that will see colourful M&M’s candies adorning their sneakers. My two fave brands!

To be available globally through adidas.com from April 19, the limited edition Adidas Originals Forum Lo 84 M&M’s sneaker carries a style that features glossy rubberized leather uppers in the same golden hue. 

Following the candied theme, the $150 pair also includes brown “M&M” removable logo flags on either side of its lace counters, as well as 3D accents shaped like the chocolate candy. For a retro finish, the athletic brand’s new pair also includes white rubber outsoles with stitching detailing and ridged brown rubber soles beneath. Completing the sneakers are toe boxes with central “M”-shaped perforations. 

As M&M’s contains numerous flavors, the sneakers similarly include numerous accents as well – all of which are fully customizable. Though the style is originally tied up with matching yellow laces, it also comes with additional orange, green, red, blue and brown laces, coordinating with the candy’s signature six colors. 

Also included with the style are slide-on lace jewels shaped like the candy itself, plus three detachable sets of straps embossed with the M&M’s logo, its yellow M&M mascot and a collage of the layered candies. 

The footwear is packed in a bright yellow co-branded box inspired by the iconic M&M’s Peanut variant packaging.

LEGO Creates an Adidas Sneaker

A LEGO and Adidas collaboration has produced an Adidas Superstar LEGO Brick Set.

"As shoes represent very organic objects, made from flexible material that also look different on every person, it was a fun challenge to translate this into the LEGO System in Play, which by nature is square and blocky", said LEGO senior designer Florian Müller. 

The said construction is made entirely out of toy bricks. Of course, it is not meant to be worn – but it features all of the “shell-toe’s” signature details. 

For starters, the set takes on the sneaker’s original “Cloud White/Core Black” colorway. Shimmering “Metallic Gold” branding on the lateral profile and tongue further nod to the model’s retail version. The iconic toe-cap is recreated, but not out of durable rubber. Laces, however, are transplanted from the made-to-wear shoe, delivering yet another touch of accuracy to the special edition release.

It comes with a display stand and plaque, collectible shoe box and 17 additional LEGO elements to create a one-of-a-kind model. The LEGO Adidas Originals Superstar Shoe is the size of an actual US 7.5 shoe and will sell for $90. 

It will be available via adidas.com on July 1st.

#IsupportXinjiangcotton

On Monday, I had blogged about this malicious anti-China campaign about Xinjiang cotton that is a total lie. 

Rightly, anger is brewing in China over the international brands boycotting Xinjiang cotton, linking it to claims of slave labor. 

And fashion giant H&M was the first to come under fire. In October, the Swedish retailer had said on their official website that they did not source products from Xinjiang due to “reports on forced labor and discrimination of ethno-religious minorities” in the country's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. 

This statement came to light again last week, fueling Chinese netizens’ fury and who called on a boycott against the brand. 

The flame quickly spread to Burberry, Adidas, Nike and some others – as old statements they made in relation to the ban on Xinjiang cotton resurfaced. 

An online campaign on Sina Weibo came out in support of Xinjiang cotton – and as of two Fridays ago, #IsupportXinjiangcotton has already gained 4.2 billion views! 

Consumers everywhere should stand in solidarity with the Chinese and cold-shoulder H&M as well as other foolish brands that stupidly support the trumped-up story about Xinjiang cotton!

Attack on China: The Issue of Xinjiang Cotton

The spiteful West is at it again. It is targeting China and fabricates fiction about the country. 

This time, the issue is supposedly forced labor in the cotton fields in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. [FYI, Xinjiang is a major global hub for the cotton industry. It produces 85 percent of China's and 20 percent of the world's cotton]. 

Based on the manufactured lie, some international brands (e.g. H&M, Adidas and Nike) had taken upon themselves to believe in the falsehood and announced the ban on Xinjiang cotton in their production. 

In response, more than forty Chinese celebrities have rescinded endorsement contracts with these brands. 

Chinese consumers, too, are unhappy over the stand the brands took and expressed their dissatisfaction by boycotting their products. 

All of this is, of course, going to hurt these big brands. 

"And the ultimate brand value of these Western companies, measured in terms of their growth potential, could be cut in half over the next five years if they refuse to rectify their discriminations against China", Zhang Yi, CEO of Shenzhen-based iiMedia Research told China’s Global Times on Saturday. 

On Thursday, the day after Swedish clothing company H&M triggered a tsunami of condemnation by Chinese netizens over their ill-intended ban on Xinjiang cotton, the company, as well as others too which have adopted similar stances to H&M, saw share prices drop significantly. 

Germany-based Adidas, one of the most popular foreign clothing brands among Chinese consumers, saw their share price drop by more than 6 percent on Thursday. According to media reports, Adidas, together with US-based Nike, saw their market value drop by more than 70 billion yuan ($10.7 billion) on that day. And the market value of H&M also slumped by about 4.8 billion yuan. 

It serves these brands right for taking up an issue that has been politicized by hostile foreign governments and their media.

#StopHateForProfit

The #StopHateForProfit campaign (read my Monday’s post “Facebook's Advertiser Revolt”) ensnared more companies – the latest include Adidas, Best Buy, Clorox, Conagra (the maker of Slim Jim, Duncan Hines and Pam), Denny’s, Edgewell Personal Care (brands include Playtex, Schick and Wet Ones), Ford, HP, Puma and Reebok.

But those who advocate it should know that this boycott against Facebook is unlikely to work. Sure, from a PR perspective, it is seen as a roaring success – but will it make Facebook purge racist, violent and verifiably false content to run rampant on their platform? I don’t believe so. 

After all, this isn't the first boycott of a social media company. In 2017, big brand after big brand announced they would stop advertising on YouTube – after ads were placed next to homophobic and racist videos. 

That particular boycott is now almost totally forgotten. YouTube tweaked their ad policies, and three years on YouTube's parent company Google are doing just fine. 

And there are more compelling reasons to believe this boycott won't hurt Facebook as much as we would like to think. 

First, most companies have only committed to a one-month proscription in July.

Secondly, much of Facebook's advertising revenue actually comes from thousands upon thousands of small- to medium-sized businesses. 

Although the boycotting advertisers include some big-name brands, they aren’t necessarily the biggest spenders on the social networking site in the US. For instance, none of these brands were in the top 100 spenders on Facebook in the said country so far this year, according to marketing analytics company Pathmatics. 

CNN had also reported that the highest-spending 100 brands only accounted for $4.2 billion in Facebook advertising last year – or about 6% of the social platform's ad revenue. 

The vast majority of the ‘other’ companies have not signed up – or rather, they are unlikely to sign up. 

That's because these businesses "can't afford not to advertise". They are priced out of advertising on TV and other ‘traditional’ mass media – and so, more affordable and more focussed ads on platforms like Facebook are deemed indispensable. 

Anyway, Facebook executives including Carolyn Everson, vice president of global business solutions, and Neil Potts, public policy director, held at least two meetings with advertisers on Tuesday, the eve of the planned one-month boycott, three sources who participated in the calls told Reuters. 

But they offered no new details on how they would tackle hate speech, the sources said – and so, their last-ditch attempt to derail the boycott failed. Nothing's new because Facebook are not willing to budge to meet #StopHateForProfit demands! 

The harsh reality is all of this is in the hands of Mark Zuckerberg (left) and he doesn’t care. Except making publicized cosmetic changes here and there just to demonstrate he listens – he is unlikely to do more to stop hate content on Facebook. 

As with the #GeorgeFloyd protests, this boycott will, over time, lose momentum. We can then expect a momentary lull and soon after, it will be forgotten. Zuckerberg knows it.

Detox Fashion

Credit: Trendstop

It’s time to detox! 

Let's commit to Greenpeace's "Detox My Fashon" campaign.

Around the world, an expanding movement of people are using their creativity, design skills and purchasing power to demand fashion without pollution. 

United by a shared belief that the clothes we wear should carry a story we can be proud of – activists, bloggers, fashionistas, designers, scientists and models have been pushing, persuading and proselytizing many big brands to commit to toxic-free fashion.

Since 2011, the environmental organization have been relentlessly shining a spotlight on the use of hazardous chemicals within the clothing industry. 

In fact, Greenpeace Germany have now published an update of the results in the form of a paper dubbed “Destination Zero: Seven years of Detoxing the clothing industry”. 

According to this report, a total of 80 major fashion brands have made progress in their pledge to remove hazardous chemicals from their production lines by the year 2020. 

They singled out fast-fashion companies such as Inditex (which owns the high street chain Zara), H&M, Benetton and Fast Retailing (which owns Uniqlo) as leading the way in the mission to reduce the use of chemicals that pollute the planet. 

But while these 80 companies that include major brands such as Adidas, Nike, Mango and Puma – they only make up 15 percent of the fashion industry as a whole, and Burberry and Valentino are the only two fashion labels from the luxury sector to have signed up to the pledge. 

Kirsten Brodde, Greenpeace Germany project lead of the Detox-my-Fashion campaign admits: “While we are extremely happy to see the progress of Detox companies towards cleaning up their supply chains, 85 percent of the textile industry is still not doing enough to eliminate hazardous chemicals and improve factory working conditions”. 

Still, we do need to recognize that there are already multiple initiatives put in place to clean up the fashion industry’s image and environmental impact have come to fruition over the past few years. 

Commendable efforts by PVH Group (which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger) to reduce the waste generated by their brands, as well as a water economy programme launched by Gap Inc and recycled fashion collections launched by labels ranging from H&M to The North Face all make a difference. 

Sure, we still have a long way to go – but the successes achieved so far prove that when we work together, big businesses and big brands are compelled to stand up and deliver. For a better world. 

I support Detox Fashion! What about you?

Sneakers that Marry Fashion with Sports

A model presents a creation from the Dolce & Gabbana Autumn/Winter 2018 women collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 25, 2018

Luxury fashion and sports are coming together. And it looks as if they have become inseparable. 

Strange bedfellows alright but it is the in-thing now. And yielding big profits for those involved in the business. Already, both luxury groups and sports companies are looking to cash in on a booming market. 

Premium sneakers can start at around $400 but can easily go up as high as $3,000 for a pair of Christian Louboutin’s leather, crystal-embellished sneakers. 

And limited editions can even sell for well over $10,000, including the Chanel X Pharrell Hu Race Trail or Nike’s Air Jordan 3 Retro DJ Khaled Grateful. 

High-end brands such as Gucci, Prada and Balenciaga are increasingly looking to sneakers for growth, putting them in direct competition with sportswear giants like Nike, Puma and Adidas – and creating ever-more striking and swank designs. 

A Reuters report put global sales of sneakers – or trainers – to have expanded by 10 percent to 3.5 billion euros in 2017. 

For sure, sneakers are a big driver of the luxury shoe business – in fact, luxury sneakers represent the fashion industry’s fastest-growing segment. 

Bruce Pas, Men’s Fashion Director at US department store Neiman Marcus – a leading purveyor of the world's most unique luxury goods – trumpets: “It’s not really even a trend anymore – it’s become a category”. 

The rise of luxury sneakers is part of the growing influence of casual and streetwear in high-end fashion, where it is now acceptable to team sneakers with a tailored suit. 

Upmarket brands are tapping into street style to refresh their looks and young buyers are driving the shift. “Millennials” – born between the early 1980s and mid-90s – already represent a third of the luxury market, according to consultancy Bain & Co. 

It has been noted that even with intensifying competition, profits will remain very healthy. 

“There is (a) large space for prices moving up”, said Erwan Rambourg from HSBC. It seems that the ‘luxurization’ of sneakers can only impact margins positively. 

Designer footwear or luxury sneakers or couture sneakers or whatever we may wish to call them – they are a fast-growing market segment. 

Even for sportswear companies, like Adidas, fashion collaborations are not unusual. 

In fact, Adidas recognize that it is a way of expanding their company’s creative ecosystem and keeping consumers engaged and excited by the Adidas brand in a fast-moving market. “These days the pace has become so fast. People go to verticals, like H&M and Zara, and expect new products every month. Even with high fashion labels, it’s the cruise collection and pre-collections; every three months you get something new”, said Dirk Schönberger, creative director of Adidas’ sport style division. 

“We are a very commercial brand, so, of course, we have to deliver – at a minimum every week – something that excites the consumer. The verticals and the [speed of the] Internet have changed the way we do things”, he added. 

When a market opportunity presents itself, you can be sure marketing-driven companies will be in the thick of the action. It’s business, after all!