Assignment 5: Adolph (Adi) Dassler

There was a duplicate of my blog entry because during the writing period another person had posted it. It all occurred within 30 minutes of each other. As the rules state, I was the second person to post it, so I will rewrite the blog with another European inventor. Sorry for the delay.

The next time you are jogging down a scenic path, playing basketball on a paved court, or even just walking out to get your mail remember that foot ware had to begin some where… There are so many name brand shoes out there, but one is recognized by almost anywhere in the world. This recognizable emblem is the three stripes of Adidas.
These shoes have been worn by Olympic track stars, boxers, and even entire soccer teams as uniforms. Adidas was the beginning of what today would be known as trend-setter designed shoes.
Adolph Dassler was born on November 3rd, 1900 in Herzogenaurach, Germany. He was the son of a factory shoe-maker and brother to other foot apparel designers. His brothers would go on to find the business of Puma, as well as other item lines. Adi’s son, Horst who would later help run his father’s business would be the founder of yet another line, Arena, for swimming gear. Well, Adolph’s journey began in his mother’s kitchen soon after World War 1. He was just 20 years old when he assembled the first model of Adidas which was made out of a leathery canvas. Adolph, Adi as he was called, had a mission with his shoes, to “provide every athlete with the best footwear for his respective discipline”. Adi would keep to his goal over the course of his successful career in the shoe industry.
By 1928, Adi’s shoes made their first appearance in the Olympic Games, which was held in Amsterdam. Over time though, his shoes became more and more catered to the athlete’s needs; this was apparent with the development of spike inserts. These spike inserts were used to help with gripping the surface of grassy or other slick ground material. These spiked shoes can be remembered for one really important event: the World Cup finals in soccer when German defeated Hungary with the help of these infamous shoes.
Adidas surprisingly didn’t get its name until 1948 when Adi deemed it a combination of both his first and his last names. A year after, the Adidas shoe would dawn it’s new logo: the Three Stripes. By this time, Adi had already made 30 different types of shoes for more than ten different sports. Within 20 years, unbeknownst to Adi, Adidas would become one of the world’s leading providers of shoes.
In the mid 1960s the Adidas campaign added to its solo shoe line…Apparel. This shoe company was now manufacturing both competition and training gear for all sports. The company was shocked though when Adi passed away in 1978, reaching the age of 78. This successful company would shift to new owners, his widow, Kathe and his youngest son, Horst. Horst would do only great things for this company in the years to come and soon it was a global leader in most areas of sports products and marketing. He would also spread Adidas to other countries such as France. Like his father, Horst died unexpectedly at the age of 51.
Soon after the Adidas Company hit a bit of a downward spiral as it tried to find targeting ages to sell their product too. By going back to it’s original model, the popularity began to sore and in 2006, the newly adapted company bought out Reebok and is now compared to other top names in the shoe business.
So next time you are out and about and see the Three Stripes, know that it has had the history and development behind it. Sometimes shoes made in the weirdest of places make the biggest impacts on society… hey, “if they shoe fits, wear it!”

Resources:
http://www.press.adidas.com/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-28/41_read-1203/
http://german.about.com/library/blerf_dassler.htm

Images:
Adolph Dassler:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/OB-AD058_Dassle_20060915184042.jpg
http://www.sad-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/1184934861_0.jpg
Original Logo:
http://www.gemagema.tv/blogs/saverscreen/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/adi6.jpg

Video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e3AUrst64Y