An August Nike initiative aims to help young people in Neukölln, one of Berlin’s most misunderstood neighbourhoods, create their own narrative about their community.
‘Share Your Story: The Heat Of Neukölln’ is a digital video series which seeks to give a voice to underprivileged teens and use the sportswear behemoth’s brand power to create positive change and flip the negative media narrative about Neukölln.
The campaign, which supports Nike’s new Neukölln store, is based on the idea that every one of us has a story to tell, no matter where we are from, and each person’s unique experience and perspective makes their personal narrative important and worth sharing. The brand and the teens hope that the stories will connect with and inspire people around the world.
Neukölln, a south-east district of Berlin, has multiple challenges including high crime and unemployment rates, discrimination against its sizeable immigrant population and it is also struggling with displacement driven by opportunistic gentrification.
The Instagram video series, which is called ‘Die Hitze von Neukölln / The Heat of Neukölln’ is dedicated to giving youths in the area a voice to tell their stories, was created in collaboration with Amsterdam-based ad agency Soursop and Neukölln-based photographers. It was mainly be filmed on iPhones in order to lend credibility that these videos were shot on the same devices that the teens use.
The first episode, posted on 12 August, depicts the life of 18-year-old footballer Ali whose life mission is to inspire young kids to build up a career in the sport. His aim is to support them in becoming more focused in life and to stop resorting to crime as a means of making a living.
It debuted on Nike Berlin’s Instagram and also ran on some of the brand’s other social and digital platforms.
Supporting the video, Nike aims to help the Neukölln community to be more physically active by hosting live, brand-backed football sessions along with Ali.
The next film in the series is the story of a young boxer called Busra who wants to eliminate prejudices against women in her sport.
Comment:
Neighbourhoods like Neukölln are need of support and change agents and if no one else is going to do it, then why not a brand like Nike?
And the brand understands that one way to help them change in their lives is to give them a voice and help them flip their community’s narrative. And the voices aren’t those of non-local celebrities or influencers, but authentic, everyday people.
Of course, a series of social videos alone won’t be anywhere near enough to drive long term change. But it is a start.
And, despite their being no direct link to the shop, it will probably build buzz and good will to the new store too of course.
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