The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2021–2022
adidas turns a Dubai beach pool into the world's first swimmable billboard
adidas turns a Dubai beach pool into a billboard women can swim in — 350M reach, earned media in 60+ countries, ADFEST Media & PR Grandes.
adidas · Havas Middle East
What it had to solve
adidas was launching its first full-coverage inclusive swimwear and burkini collection for the Middle East. A YouGov survey it commissioned found only 12% of women in the UAE felt completely comfortable wearing a swimsuit at a public beach or pool; body shame and lack of privacy kept them out of the water.
How it works
In June 2021 adidas launched its first full-coverage inclusive swimwear and burkini collection for the Middle East. A YouGov survey it commissioned found only 12% of women in the UAE were completely comfortable wearing a swimsuit at a public beach or pool — body shame and lack of privacy were the main reasons.
Instead of another fashion film, Havas Middle East built the medium around that barrier: a 5-metre-high, 3-metre-deep transparent acrylic pool holding 11,500 gallons, erected as the world's first swimmable billboard at one of Dubai's most popular public beaches. Any woman was invited to dive in. Underwater cameras transformed each dive into a personalised adidas poster printed in real time, and live-streamed it on the city's largest digital screen above the Dubai Mall Ice Rink.
The women who swam — including adidas ambassador and amputee triathlete Dareen Barbar, and Raha Moharrak, the first Saudi Arabian woman to climb Everest — saw themselves celebrated the way athletes usually are on billboards. Within a week the idea was being discussed in more than 50 countries, reaching 350 million people and generating $6 million in earned media across six continents. It won both the Media and PR Grandes at ADFEST 2022 and the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2022.
Why it lands
- It used the barrier itself — not wanting to be seen in swimwear — as the medium, making a private swim a public billboard on the swimmer's own terms.
- Turning every participant into a live model made the inclusivity claim self-evident: no casting, retouching, or claim that needed explaining.
- Underwater cameras turned one activation into thousands of personalised posters and a live stream, so the stunt kept generating owned content after the event.
- Inviting real women of every shape, ethnicity, ability and religion to dive in made the audience part of the ad, which is why juries gave it two ADFEST Grandes.
What it did
Within a week the stunt was being discussed in more than 50 countries, reaching 350 million people with $6 million in earned media across 60+ countries on six continents. It won the Media and PR Grandes at ADFEST 2022, the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2022, and a Dubai Lynx Bronze.
What you can take
When the problem is self-consciousness, put the audience inside the medium: real women swimming in the billboard became the models, so the inclusivity claim was demonstrated, not asserted.
Since then
Liquid Billboard became adidas's flagship demonstration of its 'Watch Us Move' inclusivity push and the launch of its inclusive swimwear line. It swept the region's awards — ADFEST 2022 Media and PR Grandes, the 2022 Cannes Lions Outdoor Grand Prix, and a Dubai Lynx Bronze — and is widely cited in industry coverage as a turning point for inclusive swimwear marketing in the Middle East.
Sources
- ADFEST 2022 Lotus Awards winners announced
- Liquid Billboard — ADFEST 2022 winner entry (Media Lotus)
- Campaign Spotlight: adidas and Havas create world's first ever liquid billboard
- Liquid Billboard — Dubai Lynx 2022 winners entry
- Cannes Lions 2022: Havas Middle East Dubai wins Outdoor Grand Prix for 'Liquid Billboard'
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