Even out!

Would you find it odd if you saw a show box having two shoes for the same leg; two left shoes or two right shoes. Would you still call it the right pair?

At a point in time when physical disabilities are not stopping athletes from running, and winning in life, leading sportswear brand Adidas launched a fascinating campaign in India that celebrates blade runners.

Titled ‘Odds’, the campaign has an advert that features Major DP Singh, who, despite losing a leg in the 1999 Kargil War, chose to be an athlete and went on to complete several marathons.

The advert takes us through the journey of the blade runner Major DP Singh, who is fighting all odds to live up to his passion for running. As the advert begins, you will see Major DP Singh running on a rustic steel bridge, through the uneven surfaces; all this with just one natural foot and a prosthetic leg.

And as the determined Major runs through the odds, a strong voiceover fades in - Odd, isn’t it? For a man to run when he should not technically even be walking; to compete in a marathon, while he should rather be sitting at home and watching it.

And as Kabir Bedi’s voiceover progresses, blade runner Major DP Singh continues to walk and run through hills and bridges and finally reaches his home, where he wears his crisp Army suit as the film celebrates his past.

The film by Adidas shows how Major DP Singh survived the war, trained himself hard to fight his war with life by running various marathons despite losing a leg. The film is so energetic and strong that it will make you believe that probably someone with both legs could not achieve what blade runner Major DP Singh did with just one.

And that is precisely what the campaign is all about. It is about celebrating the ones who fight against all odds and even it out for themselves. While leaving a strong statement, the brand not only celebrates the will power of such athletes but also questions us, it asks if we have endured the odds as these athletes have?

The campaign stands by the brand philosophy and is also helping gain immense PR for empowering para-athletes with its Odds collection that features two shoes of the same leg.

The campaign’s landing page features the story of Major DP Singh along with the brand’s collection Odds. With the powerful narration, on-point direction and radical concept, the campaign went on to get a Silver Lion for Taproot Dentsu in the Cannes Direct category.

But, there is one thing that is bothering us a little. While the brand took the excellent initiative of empowering para-athletes, it seems to have left the women behind. Oddly true.

The Odds collection is only available in men’s sizes; nothing for women para-athletes. Why has Adidas left women para-athletes behind? We do not know. We can just hope they introduce the Odds collection for women as an extension of the existing campaign…