New Nike advert celebrates trash in sports activities
Nike's new ad is part of a New Play campaign that shows the joy of playing sports, even if you're a little shitty
Gone are the serious voiceovers and gripping stories about winning against the odds. Instead, the tone of Nike's latest commercial is pretty insane.
The spot, entitled Play New, is the first work in a larger campaign aimed at finding “the joy of movement, play and competition”. While there are well-known athletes like Sabrina Ionescu, Dina Asher-Smith, and Blake Leeper, the ad doesn't show that they are outstanding at the sports we know them for, but that they try something new and miss shots, fall over and it generally screw up.
It all feels pretty un-Nike, but it's refreshing. The clear message is the old adage that it is not always winning that counts, but participation. And for once, those of us who are into sports make it seem normal.
Credits:
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Creative Directors: Alberto Ponte, Ryan O’Rourke
Creative: Kevin Steele, Naoki Ga
Company: Puls
Directors: thirty-two
Creative inspiration advertising