ADIDAS FUN FACTS
Adidas & Puma
Adidas was formed after a feud between Adolf
Dassler and his older brother Rudolf After
working together for years at the family
company called Gebrüder Dassler. This feud
resulted in two popular brands Adidas & Puma,
where Adolf founded Adidas, and Rudolf formed
Puma.
The feud went on as long as the brothers lived and continued even after that. Recently in 2009, both
the companies had a friendly football game to bury the hatchet. It was held as an initiative to support
the international day of peace by the UN.
The Name
The company’s founder Adolf Dassler was
commonly referred to as Adi, and he
wanted his brand to be called “Addas”
after the parting of ways with his brother.
However, he wasn’t able to get it
registered, as there was a children’s shoe
company in Germany with that name.
Later Adi went with Adidas and that is the
name that became an instant hit across
the world.
The Iconic Three Stripes Logo
The Adidas three stripes logo is iconic
and is one of the most recognized logos
in the world. However the stripes were
bought by Dassler’s in 1951, he
purchased the logo from the Finnish
shoe brand Karhu. It is said that Karhu
sold the trademark to Adidas for two
bottles of whiskey and €1600.
The Shower Shoe
The Adilette’s with the three stripes are one
of the most popular shower footwear in the
world. The German football team
approached Adidas in the 1960’s for a
solution to the shower problem. They
needed sturdy footwear for the players to
wear in the shower rooms. The Adilettes
are now a popular choice for most of us
shower singers.
Michael Jordan & David Beckham
The Wall Street Journal wrote that Michael
Jordan was in line to sign a contract with
Adidas in 1984. However, Nike offered Jordan
a $500,000 per year deal. Adidas couldn’t top
that sum and they passed up Jordan. David
Beckham became a part of the Adidas family
in 2003 after he signed a lifetime deal worth
$160.8 million, which was the highest paid
contract at the time. The popular former
soccer star retired from professional football
in 2013, but still serves as the brand
ambassador for the brand.