'A women's campaign fully led by women' for Adidas

The brief for the ad agency team was a simple one, in that it was pretty much about that women for women focus. So TBWA\NEBOKO put together a team of people from around the world, selecting the creative director, set director, project assistant and more.

Describing the campaign as "raw, real and celebratory", Watch us Move aims to unite "all women: every body, every race, every creed", says TBWA\NEBOKO. The campaign promotes the #Formotion​ collection of apparel, which is designed for women to allow for freedom of movement and cater for the fact that women's bodies are each unique.

"It's campaigns like this one, highlighting and putting women of all disciplines, front and centre to create a result that truly reflects how women see one another," says TBWA\NEBOKO Amsterdam, citing recent studies by PWC which reveal that the pandemic has "increased the unequal burden of care for women, causing more women than men to leave work because of the pandemic". They add, "Progress for women at work is back to 2017 levels due to Covid-19 by the end of 2021."

Watch us Move was shot entirely remotely: the agency is based in Amsterdam, while the director is in Berlin, and those featured in the ad hailed from around the world. "It required a lot of trust from all sides, but also clear communication throughout," says Annie Chiu, creative director on the project.

The locations were selected to fit different athletes: the dancer Minh, for instance, was shot in an an old Berlin theatre, while yogi Jessamyn was shot in natural surroundings.

The voiceover for the piece was unscripted, since the creative team wanted the visuals to speak for themselves. However, the team ended up using a text written by one of the stars of the ad, Jessamyn, since they were seen to "resonate with all of us, as women, who move in this world," says Chiu.

"Diverse and inclusive casting was not a nice to have, but a must-have…," Chiu adds. "The aesthetic was really around 'the female gaze.' It was really important that we featured women by celebrating them through the eyes of one other."

TBWA\NEBOKO is a global collective that's previously worked with clients including ESPN, Gatorade, McDonald's and many more.