Chosen, Nike’s latest addition to its Just Do It campaign shows how far the brand has come in the world of action sports. It is a fully integrated promotion featuring TV, digital display, social media, events and POS, running across 23 markets. It celebrates the best of the best athletes and (more importantly) sets out to inspire and push everyone else that goes out there and “does it”.
The campaign, by 72 and Sunny, launched with a film that premiered online and on American TV this month, featuring some of the best talent from the world of BMX, skate, surf and snow performing in their favourite spots under cover of night. Simply put, the footage is stunning; ground breaking maneuvers, challenging terrain and super slick styling make it more reminiscent of a rock concert than your standard extreme sports fare – it elevates the action to art, beautifully shot night time footage that oozes style and inspires the viewer to go out and do it, with a Nike tick.
After the bar is set by the film, we get the participation call to action – get your crew together, get your camera out and submit a video featuring your crew’s creativity and style. The winners, selected by fans, athletes and Nike get the ultimate prize of premium travel, exclusive events and custom Nike products – “the experience of a lifetime”. Granted, it’s a format we’ve seen from many brands asking for user generated content, but this time it works. YouTube and Vimeo are full of the action and antics of the target audience already and Nike cleverly taps into this existing behaviour, getting some great brand engagement to boot.
The campaign appears to have been widely accepted, galvanizing Nike’s place among the crowd and no doubt shifting a lot of product to a new audience, too. Its success can be seen as Nike’s unofficial welcome into the fold. Interestingly, this says as much about Nike’s acceptance by a niche group, as it does about how mainstream action sports have become today.
Gareth James is executive creative director at Tullo Marshall Warren
