CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & STRATEGY | CONTENT DIRECTION
& PRODUCTION | DESIGN

adidas football: orlando pirates ss24

An ongoing partnership with Orlando Pirates and adidas football serves as a platform for us to create a compelling visual direction & identity season after season to launch the new Orlando Pirates jersey with impact.

Traditional notions of football is changing in front of our eyes and so our premise is to reflect that cultural shift whilst still staying true to the iconic behemoth that is Orlando Pirates and ultimately provide a gaze into the future of football fan culture beyond the traditional pitch.

In SS24 our creative platform and visual direction centred around the rich cultural and historical roots of Orlando Pirates and
their role as founding member’s of football in South Africa. The story was told through a stylistic visual homage to James Mpanza and the ever faithful community tied to Orlando Pirates.

For this 360 campaign, we create with the intention to be able to draw distinguishing visual language and iconography for the Home jersey concept and Away jersey concept; creating a unique point of difference in each, which aims to blend the adidas football global season direction and our local insights.

The Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign pairs sleek Home jersey visuals with historic, logo-inspired Away imagery—bringing fans closer to the team’s spirit, legacy and the story of James Mpanza.
For the Orlando Pirates SS24 launch, we captured players in the tunnel and locker room, honouring the club’s roots with Away visuals inspired by its evolving crest and the legacy of James Mpanza.
From intimate locker-room scenes to heritage-driven Away jersey imagery, the Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign celebrates team spirit, history and the iconic influence of James Mpanza.
The Orlando Pirates SS24 reveal blends modern minimalism with deep heritage—spotlighting player prep moments, historic logo evolution, and James Mpanza’s enduring legacy.
Home visuals grounded in sleek, modern iconography meet Away imagery inspired by decades of club history in the Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign—complete with storytelling nods to James Mpanza.
Orlando Pirates SS24 brings together preparation, performance and legacy, showcasing players in key pre-match moments and celebrating the club’s historical identity through powerful Away visuals.
The Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign honours the club’s past and present—pairing tunnel and locker-room storytelling with heritage-rich Away imagery and equestrian elements inspired by James Mpanza.
Three people standing in front of Orlando Pirates logos wearing matching sports jerseys. They are posing confidently, with the middle person having their arm around the person on the right. There is a soccer ball on the ground in front of them.

The iconography and colour palette for the Home jersey imagery maintained a sleek, simple and forward facing aesthetic.

Our content direction for the Home lead visuals situated the players in the new Home jersey in the locker room, tunnel, crucial areas where the team transitions from preparation to performance. This showcase is more than just a reveal; it's an intimate glimpse into the heart of the team's spirit. By capturing these moments, we bring the audience closer, offering them a vivid sense of the anticipation and camaraderie that builds as players ready themselves for the game ahead.

The iconography and colour palette for the Away jersey imagery focussed on the club’s history and their logo evolution over the decades, taking inspiration from the inception of the club as Orlando Boys Club to where the club is situated in the football world today.

Both for our lead film and stills visuals, we were inspired by James Mpanza's storied legacy, with his horse, central to our visuals on the outskirts of the pitch and in the community symbolic of his heritage and spirit in a novel way.

In addition to the lead content developed for this campaign we created a retail toolkit which drew influence from the strong global direction maintaining a clean and minimalist look, whilst offering elements of regal equestrian typography, propping and custom elements as a nods to the story of James Mpanza and the rich history of Orlando Pirates as a figurehead of African football.

BEHIND THE SCENES ON SET

A black, square safe with a combination dial and a logo on top, placed on a white surface.
Open book and marketing materials showcasing Orlando Pirates soccer team logo, history, and team uniforms.

SEEDING

A fully customised chessboard seeding box developed in partnership with ThingKing, was sent out to select media, friends and leadership of adidas and Orlando Pirates

Drawing inspiration from our campaign identity, the chessboard pays tribute to strategic gameplay and the collegiate feel of the campaign, reminiscent of the Orlando Pirates outmanoeuvring their rivals.

Also included in our seeding box was an Orlando Pirates SS24 celebratory zine , allowing our partners a glimpse into the history of Orlando Pirates.

A chessboard with black and red chess pieces arranged for a game.
Open black storage box containing various red and black components and a white rectangular box.
adidas Football and Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign Zine cover featuring a black background with a red pixelated skull and crossbones, an Adidas logo, and an Orlando Pirates football club badge from 1937.
Zine cover for the adidas Football: Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign. The zine pays tribute to Orlando Pirates and James Mpanza. We included this custom zine in our seeding packages, allowing our partners a glimpse into the history of Orland Pirates.
Zine cover for the adidas Football: Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign. The zine pays tribute to Orlando Pirates and James Mpanza. We included this custom zine in our seeding packages, allowing our partners a glimpse into the history of Orland Pirates.
Black and white vintage photo of a soccer player in action, with the text 'Orlando Pirates' and the team emblem featuring a skull and crossbones.
Message from Orlando Pirates featuring the team logo, emphasizing progression and tradition with a modern design.
Announcement poster for Orlando Pirates 2024 Kit Release honoring James Mpanza, with a timeline and a logo of a horse and jockey at the top.
Black and white photo of a man wearing a hat, suit, and tie, smiling. The image has a circular logo with the text 'Orlando Pirates' and a skull and crossbones. There is also a smaller inset image of a man riding a horse on a dirt road near a car, wit
Orlando Pirates football club logo with a skull and crossbones, a star above, and the year 1937 below, on a gradient background.
Timeline showcasing the evolution of the Orlando Pirates emblem from 1940 to 2012, along with an explanatory article about the history and symbolism of the club's emblem.
Design sketches of a soccer uniform for the Orlando Pirates Kit 2024, including front, side, and back views with detailed markings and annotations by James Mzansana, celebrating South Africa's cultural heritage and modern innovation in sports apparel
Orlando Pirates SS24 jersey launch magazine visual
Two young men wearing black soccer jerseys with red and white accents and black shorts, standing against a plain background. The jerseys feature the Vodafone logo and Adidas branding. One man is facing forward, the other slightly to the side.
Two men wearing teal Orlando Pirates soccer jerseys with black and red accents, featuring the South African football club's crest, Adidas logo, and Vodacom sponsor logo, shown standing against a beige background.
adidas Football Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign visuals of the home kit
adidas Football Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign visuals of the home kit. A male soccer player in black and red uniform sitting on a bench in a locker room, with lockers and a skull and crossbones symbol in the background.
adidas Football Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign visuals of the home and away kit, The story was told through a stylistic visual homage to James Mpanza and the ever faithful community tied to Orlando Pirates.
adidas Football Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign visuals of the home and away kit, The story was told through a stylistic visual homage to James Mpanza and the ever faithful community tied to Orlando Pirates.
A group of four people dressed in Orlando Pirates soccer team apparel, standing and kneeling in front of large team banners featuring the Pirates' skull and crossbones logo. The group includes two women, one young girl, and one young man, all sportin
Three individuals posing in front of a backdrop with Orlando Pirates logos. They are wearing black and teal sports jerseys with the Vodacom logo, and various accessories. The scene suggests a sports or fan event.
adidas Football Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign visuals of the away kit, The story was told through a stylistic visual homage to James Mpanza and the ever faithful community tied to Orlando Pirates.
adidas Football Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign visuals of the away kit, The story was told through a stylistic visual homage to James Mpanza and the ever faithful community tied to Orlando Pirates.
Soccer players in black jerseys with red accents and Vodafone logos standing in formation inside a modern building with smoke and theatrical lighting.
Four male soccer players in black jerseys with red accents and Vodafone logo, standing in a smoky room with sports banners and skull graphics in the background.
Black background with three logos at the bottom: Adidas logo on the left, a vertical line in the middle, and a FC Dallas logo on the right.

TRAINING KIT STILLS

The Training kit shoot drew inspiration from the club’s busy travel schedule, fabricating an Orlando Pirates private charter plane as the backdrop for our scene. We captured players in a super-luxe yet relaxed travel environment, supplemented by a series of in-transit moments of the team exiting the plane and returning home from their pre-season tour in Spain, whilst wearing the training kit.

Training Kit 2024
adidas Football Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign visuals of training kit. The story was told through a stylistic visual homage to James Mpanza and the ever faithful community tied to Orlando Pirates.
adidas Football Orlando Pirates SS24 campaign visuals of training kit. The story was told through a stylistic visual homage to James Mpanza and the ever faithful community tied to Orlando Pirates.
Group of four men in red and black sportswear disembarking from an airplane with a white exterior, against a clear blue sky.