“We are never too far down to come back” – that’s the key copy line in Wieden + Kennedy’s latest Nike spot in its evolving ‘You Can’t Stop Us’ campaign.
The new film challenges and inspires athletes, sports fans and all humankind to get ready for their own comeback story.
As lockdowns around the world begin to ease and live sport starts to return, the idea behind the creative is that by watching Nike endorsers such as LeBron James (who also narrates), Serena Williams, Tiger Woods and others we can all see something of ourselves in them – our resolve, our grit, our hope.
Other scenes of sporting resilience include Seboka Erre crawling over the finish line at Hannover Marathon and the New England Patriots seizing the Super Bowl from the jaws of defeat against the Atlanta Falcons after being 25 points down.
The pandemic-related proposition is that now, more than ever, we all need these stories to remind us what we’re capable of.
The film is set to an archive footage backdrop of iconic sporting comebacks – returns from defeat, absence and injury – and uses sport as a paradigm for persevering through challenges.
“We’ve all been underestimated and counted out. Those moments it felt like it was over,” says James. “But it’s when we’re given no chance that we somehow found that last bit of strength to keep fighting. We came back from the impossible, from being broken. We found a way when it seemed hopeless. We came back when we should have been long forgotten.”
Outcome:
The video generated more than 100m views across Nike’s own social channels in its first three days. With more than 20m view within 24 hours and 80m within three days of the video being posting on Nike’s YouTube channel alone, plus a further 17m on Instagram and 23m on Twitter.
Clearly there are plenty of us finding inspiration from Nike, it’s A-List ambassadors and the film.
Comment:
This uplifting film is the next stage in Nike’s evolving ‘You Can’t Stop Sport’ initiative designed to educate, motivate and support people through the pandemic.
It follows on from previous spots and initiatives within Nike’s ‘You Can’t Stop Sport’ platform such as ‘Play Inside’ (see case study), ‘Play For The World’ (see case study), ‘Living Room Challenge’ (see case study) and ‘Move Crew’ (see case study)
Is this Nike’s take on a comeback story for humanity, or is that a bit over the top?
Links:
Nike
https://www.nike.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/nike
https://www.instagram.com/nike/
https://twitter.com/nike
https://www.facebook.com/nike
Wieden+Kennedy
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