Greek authorities are suing sportswear giant Adidas over a promotional stunt featuring one of the country’s most iconic monuments. Footage shared on social media shows a drone display that took place on 15 May 2025, with a swarm of drones creating a huge Adidas trainer that hovered beside instantly-recognisable the fifth-century BCE Acropolis.
Greece takes its ancient monuments seriously. A dispute between the UK and the Hellenic Republic over artefacts taken from the Parthenon and exhibited in the British Museum has raged for over forty years, since the Greeks asked for their return in 1983. And it’s not just foreign interference that Greek officials reject. A recent incident proved not even fellow countryman and Oscar-decorated film director Yorgos Lanthimos could gain permission to shoot part of his latest movie Bugonia at the Acropolis.
“Commodification of cultural heritage”
It is against this context that outrage has erupted over the mercantile exploitation of the ancient Greek citadel. Opposition party Pasok said, “The Acropolis, a global symbol of culture and democracy, cannot be treated as a backdrop for commercial use,” and called for “serious questions” over the “role and responsibility of the culture ministry.” Similarly, Syriza denounced the Adidas campaign as “commodification of Greece’s cultural heritage”.
The German manufacturer has denied any wrongdoing, with Reuters reporting correspondence from the firm that states: “All required permits were received and adhered to,” and “No image of the Acropolis monument was used by Adidas for advertising or other purposes.”
Greece’s Ministry of Culture will file lawsuits following a drone light show featuring an ADIDAS advertising campaign and the company’s logo. The light show took place on Thursday night.#Acropolis pic.twitter.com/QpwWH0rfZi
— Daphne Tolis (@daphnetoli) May 16, 2025
Perceived “kick” creates poor optics
Yet the Culture Ministry disagrees and has filed a lawsuit “against anyone and everyone responsible” for the misuse of Greece’s legacy in an advertising campaign. Minister Lina Mendoni speaking to SKAI radio, said there are strict protections in place for the UNESCO-listed world heritage and claimed “The legal procedure wasn’t followed.” She also pointed out the poor optics of the high-tech illusion, describing it as a “very bad, extremely unpleasant image” in which “the Adidas shoe is kicking the Acropolis, aesthetically that is.”
The Acropolis, on a rocky outcrop above Athens, contains many ancient structures, including the world-famous Parthenon, a classical marble Doric temple with Ionic features. Described by UNESCO as “the most striking and complete ancient Greek monumental complex still existing” and “the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek Antiquity”, it is one of the world’s most important archaeological attractions and draws up to 23,000 visitors a day.
