Adidas has never been a stranger to culture, but with Nuestra Cultura al Mundo – its latest creative initiative celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month – the brand has gone beyond the expected.
The multi-year project honours the stories of athletes and artists shaping their communities, with a focus this year on two trailblazing skateboarders – Jen Soto and Diego Nájera – whose talent and identity redefine what it means to move between worlds. Helmed by directors Gabi Lamb and Andres Norwood, the campaign unfolds as a visual love letter to heritage, movement, and connection with a creative language that feels both cinematic and deeply human.
“For me, the starting point was identity; something you live every day,” says Andres. “Gabi and I wanted to ground the creative direction in the real, lived textures of our cultures, asking ourselves: what does ‘Nuestra Cultura al Mundo’ actually look and feel like when it’s stripped of cliché?”
The answer, it turns out, lies in everyday moments. Through natural light, film photography, and storytelling rooted in community, the directors create a visual world where heritage is lived rather than performed. Jen and Diego appear not as brand ambassadors but as people—skating, cooking, laughing, surrounded by family and friends.
Gabi Lamb
Gabi, a Mexican American director known for her emotional, analogue aesthetic, drew inspiration from the raw energy of classic skate films. She explains: “I revisited Baker 3, Supreme’s Cherry and Blessed, and Girl’s Yeah Right! – those iconic pieces that shaped skate culture.
From there, we spent time talking with Jenn and Diego about their upbringings, their connection to skating, and how their heritage shaped who they are. That became the emotional core of the campaign.”
Her direction captures that intimacy with tenderness. In one scene, Jen skates the legendary Brooklyn Banks as her voiceover asserts her independence: “not being put in a box.” Later, she’s seen cooking for her family in Pennsylvania, her nieces and nephews running around under a fluttering Puerto Rican flag. “It felt intimate and genuine,” says Gabi. “Like being a fly on the wall in a moment of family warmth.”
For Diego, the shoot centred on themes of brotherhood and community. “He spoke about how his brothers and friends have always been his foundation,” Gabi continues. “We subtly bridged soccer and skateboarding – showing how both shaped his discipline and drive. Bringing his brother Ruben into the shoot added a beautiful emotional layer.”
At the heart of it all is adidas’s role as both collaborator and catalyst. “Adidas has always lived at that intersection where culture, sport, and self-expression meet,” says Andres. “We approached the campaign like building an ecosystem – the sport is there, but so are the elders, the murals, the kids skating after school. Adidas becomes the thread that ties it all together, not the main character.”
The balancing act between brand and community is what makes Nuestra Cultura al Mundo stand apart from typical heritage marketing. Instead of amplifying glossy perfection, it slows down to savour authenticity and honesty.
Andres adds: “We took the risk of slowing down and finding beauty in the mundane, using natural light, real environments, real people, from Jen cooking for her family to Diego hitting the mercado with his brother.
“We treated culture as art. Every frame is a love letter to who we are, and who we’re still becoming.”
The campaign culminated in an experiential celebration in Puerto Rico at the end of October, which was a fitting finale for a project that celebrates home and belonging. “Puerto Rico is both a location and a character,” says Andres. “It holds the joy, the pain, the rhythm, and the resistance that define so much of our shared experience. Bringing the campaign there felt spiritual – the energy was electric.”
While Hispanic Heritage Month has wrapped, Nuestra Cultura al Mundo is far from over. More storytelling moments and community-led activations are planned in the months ahead, continuing to expand the campaign’s impact beyond a single calendar moment.
For both directors, this work marks a shift in how global brands engage with culture, with authenticity, nuance, and emotion leading the way. “For brands to truly connect, they need to honour the communities driving culture,” says Gabi. “So much creativity comes from marginalised communities – that struggle, resilience, and passion are where culture is born. When people feel seen, they want to support brands that see them.”
Andres agrees, seeing heritage-driven campaigns as a window into the future. “Creativity is the bridge between the personal and the universal,” he says. “When brands give space for artists to lead with authenticity, it changes how people see themselves in the world. That’s the true heartbeat of Nuestra Cultura al Mundo – and of where storytelling is headed next.”
