On the eve of his final track race, Nike rolls out a tribute to athlete endorser Sir Mo Farah with a commercial focusing on the long distance runner’s smile and sweat.
The film, called ‘Smile’, celebrates the sacrifice and resilient mindset behind his track career and his beaming smile.
Despite the title, and despite Farah’s infectious sense of joy and his signature Mobot move, this spot actually chronicles the gruelling preparation, the tough training regime and the mental strength behind his smiley persona.
It celebrates the ‘glory of the final mile’ with a powerful piece of poetry paired with creative focusing on Farah’s contribution to athletics and his sacrifice.
The 60-second spot, which opens with a shot of Farah’s smiling face, was first posted on the brand’s Nike Running YouTube channel and Facebook page on 10 August.
The soundtrack is a powerful tribute from London spoken word artist George the Poet: a poem that tries to capture a human truth: that behind every smile, there is a story that is never as easy as it seems.
You smiled a smile that made it look easy.
Made people stop and stare.
The happiness you felt you gave it so freely
They would never guess what got you there.
To be precise I mean the sleepless nights, I mean the
Uphill struggle to the steepest heights
And in that space of your lonely performance
Suddenly you become your own reassurance
That’s when you realise you don’t need assurance –
Only endurance.
You fought through the darkest hours of the night.
So this is light work, the power is in the mind.
Now you’re adorned in the glory of the final mile.
And it’s all in the story behind your smile.
The video was launched 24 hours before Farah stepped into the stadium in London for the IAAF World Athletics Championship 50000 meters – his final race on the track.
The ad, developed by long-time Nike creative agency Wieden + Kennedy London, was shot in the streets of his home town London.
Created by a W+K team led by Tom Hall and Kate Baker, it was directed by Mark Zibert and produced by Rogue films.
Comment:
In this blend of praise, pop wisdom and dynamic visual storytelling, the couplets may feel a touch repetitive to some, but Nike’s creative content delivers effectively enough and the overall arc is a characteristically pitch-perfect build-up to Nike’s classic tagline.
With more than a million YouTube views in the first 24 hours, it is certainly generating some solid traction.
In fact, this is yet another powerful endorser tribute spot Nike; a brand that has an impressive track record of admirable ad tributes to its retiring sports endorsers.
For other examples, see our case study of its tribute to New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter.
It is also another example of Nike sticking by its ambassadors through the thick and thin of disappointing performances or media criticism.
Of course, unlike Usian Bolt (and his commercial partner goodbye campaigns from the likes of Virgin Media and Puma), Mo isn’t actually retiring.
He’s just switching from the track to the road, so Nike will have plenty more marathon marketing initiatives to work on in the future.
Perhaps Mo will help the brand Break 2 (see case study)?
Links:
Nike
http://www.nike.com/gb/en_gb/c/justdoit
https://www.instagram.com/nike/
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+nike
Wieden + Kennedy London
