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113 21 Stockholm
Sweden
At the turn of the millennium, Adidas faced a new frontier—the digital era. As consumer behavior rapidly shifted, the brand needed to evolve from traditional marketing models into a more connected, interactive, and global communication ecosystem.
Johan Ronnestam and his agency Foreign were brought in to play a major role in digitalising Adidas’ global communication efforts. The task: to create campaigns that were not only strategically aligned and creatively bold, but also adaptable to multiple markets, platforms, and cultural contexts.
The challenge was to ensure Adidas remained culturally relevant and digitally progressive—while speaking to millions of fans across languages, borders, and passions.
Together with the growing team at Foreign, Johan led the development of more than 50 global digital campaigns, helping redefine how Adidas communicated in the digital space. These weren’t just marketing initiatives—they were foundational to the digital transformation of one of the world’s most iconic brands.
Throughout these years, Johan Ronnestam worked across multiple business units, including Adidas Football, Adidas Originals, Adidas Rugby, and Adidas Women. In parallel, he also served as a strategic advisor to Adidas’ global management team, shaping both brand and digital strategy at the highest level of the organization.
Many of the campaigns featured some of the era’s most legendary athletes—David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Raúl González, Xavi, Oliver Kahn, and others—combining elite performance with bold storytelling.
Each campaign was built from a core of strategic insight, then expanded into global toolkits with local adaptability and real-time flexibility.
Key elements included:
From concept to execution, every project helped push Adidas forward into the digital era, laying the foundation for the brand’s long-term success in a fast-evolving world.
