Superstar OOH: Adidas & JD Take Over The Trafford Centre
Background & Activation
Adidas and JD have launched a striking new campaign at The Trafford Centre in Manchester, designed to spotlight one of Adidas’ most iconic trainers — the Superstar. The centrepiece of the activation is a giant 3D replica Superstar trainer, measuring an impressive 2.5 metres in length, suspended in the main atrium. Surrounding this showstopping installation is a suite of ambient media including balustrade branding and 14 hanging flag banners lining the central walkway. The layered approach ensures repeat and continuous exposure, building anticipation as shoppers move through the centre and culminating in the dramatic reveal of the oversized Superstar itself — a focal point that is impossible to miss and primed for capturing attention both in person and online.
The choice of The Trafford Centre as the stage for this activation was no coincidence. As one of the UK’s most prominent shopping destinations, it attracts around 29 million visitors annually and serves as a landmark location for JD, who started its journey in Greater Manchester back in 1981. In June 2025, JD unveiled its largest store in the world at The Trafford Centre, a 41,000-square-foot flagship with a 92-metre frontage that tripled its previous footprint. The opening was marked by a high-profile event featuring Usain Bolt and the YouTube collective Beta Squad, cementing JD’s positioning at the heart of youth culture and lifestyle retail.
The activation was planned and booked through Edison Media, ensuring the campaign landed with maximum impact in one of the busiest retail environments in the country. The creative build of the shoe itself was delivered by Creative SD, who brought the vision to life in a way that matched the scale and ambition of the Adidas × JD partnership. The result is a bold, theatrical statement that transforms a retail space into a cultural stage.
Audience
At the heart of this campaign is the Adidas Superstar, a shoe that first gained prominence in the 1970s on the basketball court before becoming a streetwear staple in the 1980s thanks to hip-hop pioneers like Run-D.M.C. Its timeless design and cultural cachet have ensured it has never truly gone away, but it is now enjoying a new wave of relevance among Gen Z. From the influence of global celebrities like Jennie Kim and Stray Kids to its rediscovery through thrifting culture and minimalist styling, the Superstar has been embraced as a symbol of making “classic things cool again.”
Shopping centres like The Trafford Centre are a natural environment to reach Gen Z, who remain strongly engaged with physical retail despite being digital natives. Recent research highlights just how central in-store experiences are for this audience:
28% of Gen Z in the UK visit fashion stores weekly, more than twice the rate of the average consumer at 13% (RetailNext).
34% visit health and beauty stores weekly, compared to 20% overall (RetailNext).
62% prefer in-store shopping over online-only, according to a survey of 1,000 young UK shoppers (Retail Week & Profitect).
88% of the UK population visited a retail destination in late 2024, averaging 2.2 visits per person per month (MRI Software).
81% of Gen Z say they prefer in-store shopping as an escape from screens and a way to connect with friends (Vogue Business).
These behaviours underline the enduring relevance of malls as high-footfall, socially driven spaces. The spectacular scale of the Adidas Superstar installation taps directly into this mindset, combining retail theatre with a powerful photo opportunity designed to extend its impact well beyond the centre itself.
Summary
By bringing together the cultural weight of Adidas’ most enduring trainer, JD’s deep connection to youth audiences, and the prominence of one of the UK’s busiest shopping centres, this campaign creates an experience that is as memorable as it is effective. It transforms a classic sneaker into a contemporary talking point, reminding a new generation why the Superstar is not just part of fashion history, but also firmly embedded in its present and future.
See the full campaign gallery here
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