Adidas Covered Naples in Italy Shirts Ahead of England Game

Italy played in Naples for the first time in over 10 years last night, and Adidas hung hundreds of Azzurri shirts on washing lines over the city's streets ahead of the game against England, as well as arranging other events throughout the day.

Adidas Showcase Italy Kits in Naples

The Adidas Italy deal was much anticipated when word first got out last year. There was no shortage of fanfare around the kit launch in January either, but Adidas made sure that the new home shirt got even more attention on the day of its debut, well before the match kicked off.

Clothes and bedsheets hanging from the overhead washing lines in the narrow streets of Napoli's Quartieri Spagnoli are a common sight and almost emblematic of the city. Yesterday, they were replaced by hundreds of Italy home shirts, with plenty more to be seen around the place.

Adidas kitted out the staff of various pizzerias in the new jersey, as well as over 80 football freestylers who showed off their skills to passers-by. The centre of the pre-match action was a pitch that was installed at Piazza Dante, its surface covered with colourful graphics by local artist collective Orticanoodles.

In front of many onlookers, small sided games were played between teams of Italian social media influencers from the Nazionale Creators collective and players from the Scuola Calcio Micri, a local football school.

Unfortunately, the latter part of the day didn't turn out to be quite as much fun for the national team. They lost 2-1 to England in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier. Not the kind of start to the campaign that they were hoping for.

What do you think of these kind of promotional initiatives from brands? Can you remember any other examples of this kind of event? Let us know in the comments.