No stars or fancy shoes: Student's mock ad for Adidas goes viral online

A German student recently shook the advertising world with a mock Adidas video commercial he directed, angled on an old man breaking free of ageing stereotypes.

There are no A-list celebrities, no sports personalities and to be honest, no fancy shoes either. 

The video, entitled "Break Free" casts an old man, who was once a marathon runner, in a retirement home. Tired and worn out by the routine of his daily life, he finds an old pair of Adidas sneakers, which sparks his passion for running again.

The rest of the 1 minute and 39 second clip sheds a rather humorous spot on how other residents and nurses of the home react to his attempts to literally break free and run free in the outdoors.

The student, Eugen Merher, 26, is from the renowned Film Academy Baden-Wuettermberg, and claims to have discovered his passion for filmmaking at the age of six, according to his personal website.

It seems his early start in film-making paid off even if Adidas hasn't shown interest in it yet.

In an interview with Huffington Post, he said: "We tried sending it to (Adidas) communications department but they didn't really react."

He told Scary Mommy that the commercial was inspired by the death of a distant 80-year-old relative last year.

Speaking to the online magazine, he said: "He inspired me to have a man that breaks free from inner restrictions, dementia, and from a retirement home - and run one last time."

The ad has attracted a lot of online attention and is currently trending on YouTube at the No. 6 spot. It has been viewed over 1.4 million times.

Hopefully it's only a matter of time before Adidas takes notice of this. Hang in there, Eugen.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXfLl3qYy0k[/embed]

sujint@sph.com.sg