Impossible Is Still Nothing.

So they went ahead and did it. Someone was going to. The phrase that Aleksey Vayner made popular, and was the point of so much ridicule, is now the title of Adidas' new advertising campaign: "Impossible Is Nothing."(Update: "impossible is nothing" has been a slogan of theirs for a while now. I just caught with of the most recent press release and iteration of the campaign. Ta-da) Vayner, if you don't remember, is the enterprising young Yale student who attached a video to his resume when applying to the investment banking firm UBS.

The New York Sun does a thorough job of summarizing it:

"Mr. Vayner identifies himself on his resume as a multi-sport professional athlete, the CEO of two companies, and an investment adviser. The video depicts him lifting a 495-pound weight, serving a tennis ball at 140 miles an hour, and ballroom dancing with a scantily clad female. Finally, Mr. Vayner emerges enrobed in a white karate suit and breaks six bricks in one fell swoop. Between athletic bits, Mr. Vayner takes the opportunity to opine on success. After being described in the opening lines of the video as "a model of personal success and development to everybody," Mr. Vayner says, "Failure cannot be considered an option." He adds: "To achieve success you must first conceive it and believe in it. Remember: impossible is nothing."

But "Impossible is Nothing" as an ad campaign, on the internet, is nothing if not hard to take seriously -- intentional or not. Adidas's effort here is actually kind of heartwarming (regretfully). In the spots, athletes narrate animation which depict their own struggles with adversity -- as athletes (weaknesses becoming strengths, etc.) Its both touching and fitting, especially in the case of Aleksey Vayner. From the official
press release:

“With this campaign we get a glimpse of the athletes not at the finish line, but rather at a pivotal point in their journey,” explained Eric Liedtke, Senior Vice President Global Brand Marketing, Adidas Brand.

Vayner made a pivotal mistake making that video. Instead of an inspiration, he's proved nothing more than a media punching bag. And fun.


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