adidas
Messi 5 Experience
Halo Flagship
2023
— Advancements in transparent display technology have become transformative in architectural design. Immersive storytelling can now take new depths and augment retail.
SERVICES
Experience Strategy, Immersive Design, Content Creation
Project Overview
adidas’ first Canadian Halo Flagship at the Toronto Eaton Centre offers 12,000+ sq. ft. of immersive brand storytelling, complete with a lounge, personal shopping, community areas, and interactive digital experiences.
Rooted in Toronto’s diversity, the Halo Flagship reflects adidas’s presence at global sporting events and celebrates the city’s vibrant multicultural community.
There’s no bigger global sporting event than the FIFA World Cup, and no athlete more iconic than Lionel Messi. After Argentina’s dramatic victory over defending champions France, Messi, adidas’ flagship athlete, secured his legacy as football’s greatest. In response, we created custom content highlighting five stages of Messi’s career in his pursuit of the World Cup. Rooted in adidas’ “Impossible Is Nothing” campaign, the work celebrates Messi’s relentless belief and his ultimate triumph on his fifth attempt.
Approach
Parallax animation composition
We developed a multi-layered composition titled “The Messi 5,” featuring modern-day Messi carrying his 19-year-old self as the younger version lifts the World Cup trophy. They are surrounded by three additional Messi figures representing other World Cup eras. This holographic visualization captivates shoppers, stopping them in their tracks and drawing them into the store.
Our pseudo-3D parallax animation technique enhances depth perception in a 2D environment by moving background layers at proportionally slower speeds than foreground elements. This mirrors the natural effect where nearer objects appear to move faster than those farther away, creating a convincing sense of spatial depth.
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY
Transparent display technology is reshaping spatial design. Layering digital content in physical spaces augments experiences seamlessly onto windows, partitions, and sculptural elements.
Transparent display technology offers remarkable capabilities, but also presents challenges in content creation. By pairing these see-through canvases with animated visuals, brands can craft engaging experiences that preserve visibility into the store while delivering compelling storytelling.
SERVICES
My Digital Experience team has maintained a 15+ year relationship with adidas across three agencies providing in-depth strategy to help identify the latest technology innovations and optimal content to maximize them.
Our team creates at the intersection of strategy, innovation, technology, and storytelling. We collaborated closely with adidas clients to define, design, and deliver immersive brand experiences that are humanly desirable, technologically feasible and financially viable.
ProJEct Images
Achievements
adidas experienced a significant sales boost during the 2022 World Cup, driven largely by strong demand for Lionel Messi's jerseys, which sold out worldwide.
— adidas global sales reports
The positive momentum from the World Cup contributed to overall brand awareness and global football business growth, which was reflected in the company's broader financial reports for that fiscal year. adidas generated sales of €23.7 billion in the 2024 fiscal year following the tournament year.
Halo stores are at the top of adidas concept store fleet, they continue to elevate our Key Cities through additional flagship stores that drive our focus on digitalization, personalization, and a seamless premium consumer experience across all touchpoints. adidas upgraded Halo stores with the latest store design concepts and opened new brand centers across several markets to improve brand image and commerciality.
Audience engagement
Satisfaction Rate
