Adidas is all in on Mendoza. This is a great marketing ploy for them; the kid from Miami, growing up near the school he grew up loving, & now he’s back home as a Heisman winner.
For Adidas, this is not a shot at us vs. promoting their NIL guy who just beat Adidas’ biggest sneaker rival’s poster child Univ. in NikeU. I paid attention to how each victory’s IG was handled for us vs. IU:
For us, it was a simple: “It’s a Fiesta”, but for IU it was “Duck, Duck, Whooo?” That was a big moment for the brand, no shade to us. I’ve long shared w this board that Adidas’ will focus on one darling at a time. They do not have the marketing infrastructure to promote others, for w/e reason.
I gave the example of Ward last yr, how it was all He1sman promotions, UNTIL Hunter became the favorite. Not only did Adidas shift its marketing campaign to Travis, but they gave him his own line, and Cam became an after thought.
Ffwd to 2025-26; when Mendoza became the heavy favorite, Adidas’ marketing team was not just behind Mendoza, but IU as a whole (a long, long, LONG time partner of Adidas). So their marketing is going to be focused on their pride & joy “for this season.”
The fact we still have fans caping 4 this is quite humorous to me despite the tangible evidence. Regardless, it’s a win-win for Adidas this yr, but for marketing purposes, I can tell u who they prefer. But, I’ll allow a few members continue to say “but, they r paying more.”