Nike commemorated ambassador Roger Federer’s eighth Wimbledon title with immediate release of a celebratory campaign asserting his dominance (with a typographical detail incorporating the number 8 into his name) and linked to a limited-edition range products.
The moment after the iconic Swiss tennis star clinched his 19th grand slam and eight Wimbledon crown on 16 July
The moment Federer beat Croatia’s Marin Cilic at the All England Club, becoming the first male player in the tournament’s long history to win eight times, Nike rolled out the initiative’s spearhead ‘Ro8er’ spot.
The 30-second ad, developed by the sportswear giant’s usual creative agency Wieden + Kennedy, is built around clips of the elegant 35-year-old in action (with plenty of Nike product close ups) and includes the copy line ‘If you are not here to cut the grass, get off my lawn’.
As well as the spot, there were supporting social media pieces,
You don’t play @rogerfederer on grass. You play on his grass. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/pXxufjQPRp
— Nike (@Nike) July 16, 2017
which all promoted Nike’s release of a limited new collection celebrating is record-breaking eighth title at SW19 and Federer’s 19th major.
This includes all-white Oscillate Evolve RF shoes (which pay homage to the shoes Tinker Hatfield designed in 1997) featuring the number 8 on the heal (available at NikeTown London and 21 Mercer), plus two commemorative T-shirts (one with the Ro8er logo and another featuring an RF logo crest on the chest surrounded eight ivy leaves and “Federer 19” on the back).
#CelebrateRF ..the #Ro8er and #RF19 t-shirts, and limited edition @NikeLab Oscillate Evolve RF shoes https://t.co/OHfGF9Hewd pic.twitter.com/CYkYAXx0cU
— FedFan (@FedererFan07) July 18, 2017
Already out of stock @Nikecourt #Ro8er pic.twitter.com/EBmNdyWQFX
— Stefania Giorgini (@steefff79) July 24, 2017
Federer, the oldest man in the Open era to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon and fourth place on the all-time list, behind Margaret Court (24), Serena Williams (23) and Steffi Graf (22), added to his victory roll with his eighth men’s single titles at Wimbledon, eclipsing the previous record of seven held by Pete Sampras and William Renshaw (only Martina Navratilova holds more with nine Wimbledon titles)
Activative Source:
While the attitude-filled ‘Ro8er’ spot has only notched up 125,011 YouTube views since its 16 July release, it has garnered 2.6m Facebook views and also comes a month after another tribute ad from Nike and W+K called ‘The Roger Effect’, celebrating Federer’s career and his effect on the tennis world which has racked up 6,899,105 YouTube views and 1.2m on Facebook.
We think this is the most notable Wimbledon congrats spot since 2013 when BBH London and juice brand Robinsons honored Andy Murray after he ended the 77-year drought between British male singles champions (see case study)
Nike wasn’t the only Federer sponsor to immediately activative around his 8th title right after his win: another brand taking a similarly-theme,d albeit less big budget approach was his racket partner Wilson.
Sneak peek at something big coming later today for @RogerFederer! pic.twitter.com/ZNrzmQsG7e
— Wilson Tennis (@WilsonTennis) July 16, 2017
Nike’s marketing playbook increasingly regularly features pre-prepared congratulatory ads for individual athletes and/or teams to celebrate/leverage milestone victories.
Other examples of this tactic in recent months include its Chicago Cubs ‘Goodbye Someday’ last fall after the team finally broke the curse and won the MLB World Series (see case study),
and with Kevin Durant ‘Debate This’ spot which aired in the first ad slot after his Golden State Warriors clinched this season’s NBA title (see case study).
In July it was Roger Federer’s turn for the tactical treatment.
Who will be next?
Mo Farah at the IAAF World Championships perhaps?
Links:
Nike
https://www.youtube.com/user/nike
https://www.instagram.com/nike/
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+nike
Wieden + Kennedy
