Nü-metal pioneers Korn have long held an association with tracksuits, and early on in their career, their brand of choice was Adidas. Amid their rapid rise to fame in the mid to late 90s, the group introduced millions of their fans to the iconic three-stripe brand, cementing their affection for the sportswear company in their landmark music video for their 1996 track “A.D.I.D.A.S.“.
While that athletic apparel company was open to providing the Bakersfield, CA natives with product amid those early days, their focus on being a sportswear company saw them opting to not give the group a sponsorship deal, nor work with them on more elaborate designs.
In light of that shortsightedness, rival sportswear brand Puma was able to swoop in back in 1998 with a sponsorship deal of their own (reportedly worth $500,000 USD), effectively ending Korn‘s direct association with Adidas for several years to come.
However, nostalgia can be a powerful marketing tool and earlier this year, Korn and Adidas made it official, launching a limited edition run of collaborative merch together.
A special exhibit of some of the most memorable pieces of the band’s Adidas-related merch was setup in honor of that merch line’s launch this past October. It was there that this newly released interview was conducted with the group’s vocalist Jonathan Davis to commemorate the event.
In it, Davis takes a trip down memory lane, detailing how various pieces of his Adidas-related stage wear came to be, his inspirations for the alterations he had done, the initial pushback he received from Adidas and more.
[via Blabbermouth.net]
