Seven Academy students, ten soccer superstars, one gold spray-painted scene. A squad of Academy creators, comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students, developed a multi-room interactive experience to unveil Real Madrid's latest gear and adidas' new boot silo: Hardwired. Armed with custom spray paint guns branded with Real Madrid emblems, the squad transformed adidas' flagship store into a life-sized canvas.

A blank slate was the starting point for the Academy team's conceptualized environment which turned the Real Madrid athletes into creators. Upon entry, the players were tasked to spray the entire room in gleaming gold paint. It was only when the room was completely coated that the magic is revealed. Real Madrid crests, along with adidas logos and the words "Demand Glory" shone through the shimmering hues of gold due to a repellent coating of white paint.

"It was an amazing experience to go from the initially vague brief of designing a marketing activation to launching it with the players and fans," says Jean-Daniel Leroy, an Academy sophomore. "I had a great time collaborating with the graduate students that I otherwise might not have had the chance to work with."


The team worked on the art direction, experience design, tech concerting, and room development for the activation.⁣ The students also developed the graphic brand for the entire event — designing invitations and poster assets that were pasted across the store in the retail showcase and player meet-and-greet areas.

"We were really able to understand the tactical and creative side of our event and how that fits within the broader context that adidas is trying to accomplish," said Kingsley McGowen, a graduate student at the Academy. "All in all, adidas is the creator brand and being in the Iovine and Young Academy, it's easy to see how the ethos of both brands created such a fruitful experience for adidas, Real Madrid, and most importantly soccer fans."

Other aspects of the activation included content capture for documentation and social media. Students identified a range of hero and group moments in 2D, 3D GIF, and video formats. To see more of the students' play by play check out the Academy's Flickr.

IYA Students Team up With Adidas and Real Madrid C.F. in NYC Activation