Pink-purple as a bestseller?
DFB jersey annoys fragile men and becomes a hit
March 19, 2024, 4:27 p.m
The German footballers’ new away jersey is causing discussions. It breaks prejudices and turns out to be a PR coup for the manufacturer. The sales figures for the first few days are also apparently correct.
Florian Wirtz is wearing clouds of pink glitter make-up, the other national players are walking to the Barbie bus in tutus. Of course, the social media images that have been shared tens of thousands of times are just photo montages – but after the presentation of the bright pink European Championship away jerseys, the culture war for the sovereignty of interpretation is raging, especially on the Internet. Daring symbol of social diversity? Or cheap pandering to the woke zeitgeist?
Either way, Adidas has struck a chord with a nation divided in its views. The manufacturer can be celebrated for a PR coup, and not just because of the best start to sales of an away jersey. But also because of a good to brilliant advertising campaign that exceeded one’s own expectations in terms of reach, anticipated criticism and immediately refuted it with humor. “Is that a women’s jersey?” is asked in one clip. National player Jule Brand answers provocatively: “I don’t know. Doesn’t look like eight European Championship titles to me so far.” The men only have three.
As a long-time national team director, Oliver Bierhoff has experienced many jersey presentations. In general, the design is more up to the supplier, he said on Welt-TV: “There is also the commercial idea behind selling the jerseys. And they have now gone to the very young generation.” The concentration on the Tiktok generation with influencers, YouTube and hours of Twitch streams also brings problems: “It’s harder for me to imagine that a 60-year-old would love to wear that.” But from Adidas’ point of view, to put it bluntly, he can still stretch the white home jersey over his stomach while barbecuing at the campsite.
Praise for courage and modernity seems to be balanced with criticism of complacency and alleged betrayal of values, both of which come from the expected directions. The discussion exposes fragile masculinity and age-old prejudices – but Adidas has achieved one thing: almost everyone has a clear opinion.
Pricing is not that bold
Also Marcel Loko. “I wonder whether the intention is too transparent,” the brand expert told Spiegel. “To me it seems too pandering, too hey-we’re-cool-like.” Pink is not only a far cry from the previous DFB palette in the color spectrum: “Doesn’t it overwhelm the players when too much socio-political stuff is forced into the jersey?” In the medium term, there is a risk of “communicational damage” if “central values and symbols” are treated so carelessly.
However, after the PR disaster for the German Football Association at the World Cup in Qatar (keywords: rainbow armband, mouth-to-mouth gesture), Adidas is deliberately putting its hand on the hot stove. There is a “humorous play on German clichés and stereotypes” – for example, on Tuesday a “typically German” living room from the 1950s was set up in the press area on the Frankfurt campus. Next door was a kebab shop: tradition and modernity.
According to the manufacturer, the “unexpectedly fresh” away jerseys are being praised by influencers, the model Lena Gercke and the rapper RIN, among others. Wirtz is thrilled: “I think it’s very cool! Something different and really extraordinary.”
The fans probably don’t think the price is that cool. The jerseys cost 100 euros, in children’s sizes 75. The “authentic version” worn by the players is available for 150 euros. Having the courage to wear a 50 euro jersey might have been a good thing. It still seems to be a hit: the shirt had the best sales start ever for a German away jersey, as Adidas spokesman Oliver Brüggen announced. The home jersey is also “very popular”.