Staff Report
DUBAI – Drivers along Sheikh Zayed Road this spring saw American University of Sharjah student Sasha Afsh up close, as she appeared on high-visibility billboard-sized LED displays for Adidas.
“I never thought in a million years I’d see myself on a billboard, let alone an Adidas billboard,” the Department of Mass Communication junior said in an email interview. “So, for anyone who thinks it’s impossible, impossible is nothing.”
Afsh, who studies in the Integrated Marketing Communication concentration, is also a freelance content creator active on Instagram and TikTok. Her TikTok content includes her work as a singer. She performs under the stage name Sasha Ash, which she sometimes renders as sashaxxash.
“Before Covid I was doing more performances,” she said. “However, Covid got in the way. The dream is to be performing, that’s what I really love to do.”
Of the Adidas project, she said she came into contact with the local Adidas team through her work with the agency Red Havas.
“I was invited to an event at the Matcha Club titled ‘Adidas x The Matcha Club,” she said. “It was a workout/dance class and many women influencers attended. Afterwards, I was told about the opportunity [to be featured on an ad] and directly applied for it.”
The result was that her manager took her photo, using Afsh’s own iPhone, playing paddle tennis outside the event in the Matcha Club while wearing Adidas clothing.
The image ran on LED displays operated by BackLite Media in three high-visibility locations (the “Triple Crown”) on Sheikh Zayed Road during March.
