Adidas Trainers. The first Adidas trainers were hand produced by Adolf (Adi) and Rudolph Dassler in 1920 under the Dassler name at home on the kitchen table. In 1928 the trainers appeared in the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. By 1956, at the Melbourne Olympics, the Adidas brand was being promoted. This was the first sports sponsorship.
By 1961 Adidas had branched out from trainers into footballs and clothing. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, 80% of all athletes sported footwear with the familiar Adidas 3 stripes. In 1974, the German football team won the World Cup and 80% of all tournament players wore Adidas boots. In 1976, 83% of athletes at the Montreal Olympics wore Adidas.
1997 saw David Beckham signed up as part of a new Adidas marketing offensive. In the tennis world Anna Kournikova promoted the Adidas brand. Adidas now produces a vast range of trainers, covering all types of markets and sports under two main logos; The ADIDAS EQUIPMENT RANGE under the three stripe logo and the ADIDAS ORIGINALS range, which carries the classic trefoil logo.
