Nike: Unlimited Together [alternative]

Credits & Description:

Client: Nike and Jordan Brand
Advertiser: Nike
Media: Web Film
Brand: Nike and Jordan Brand
Country: United States
Campaign: We The People
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy New York
Executive Creative Director: Karl Lieberman
Creative Team: Caleb Jensen
Creative Team: Jimm Lasser
Integrated Production: Nick Setounski
Production Company Producer: Dominic Tunon
Art Production Director: Deb Rosen
Art Producer: Pietro Clemente
Production Company: Doomsday
Director: Hiro Murai
Executive Producer: Danielle Hinde
Line Producer: Jason Colon
Director of Photography: Larkin Seiple
Production Designer: Eric Archer
Editing Company: Parallax
Editor: Luke Lynch
Executive Producer: Graham Zeller
Editorial Assistant: Kyle Gilbertson
Editorial Assistant: Rene Vargasmadriga
Colorist: Bossi Baker
Sound Mix: Unbridled Sound
Compositing: Graham Zeller
Clean up artist: Jared Abel
Sound Mix: Parallax
Projection editing: Luke Lynch
Projection editing: Taylor Ward
Projection editing: Laith Majali
Global Director of Advertising at Nike Jordan Brand: Desmond Marzette
Global Brand Communications Senior Director Nike: Jordi Pont
Senior Advertising Manager Nike: Steve Henderson
Project Manager: Kristin Daly
Strategist: Brandon Thornton
Account Manager: Jordan Muse
Account Manager: Liz Lindberg
Business Affairs Team: Sara Jagielski
Business Affairs Team: Lindsey Timko
Business Affairs Team: Tana Prosper
Media Manager: Karlo Cordova
Media Manager: Branden Bouvia
Media Manager: Chad Muratev
Traffic Director: Sonia Bisono
Synopsis:
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Nike Basketball and Jordan Brand wanted to make a statement beyond the basketball court. During the summer of 2016, our country was divided. As the conventions convened, political and racial tensions reached new heights, and the nation took sides. It was impossible to escape the shifting climate.Jordan Brand and Nike wanted to create more than just an ad for shoes and athletic wear. We wanted to make a wave in the conversation and help bring unity in this time of divide.
Strategy:
We understood that the 2016 Olympic games had a lot more meaning to the America than just sports. It needed mending when everything else was reflecting its divide. Nike and Jordan used Team USA as a real life example of unity. The former opponents came together for America and stood for something bigger than basketball.“The Star-Spangled Banner” is the natural soundtrack for our team’s effort to take on the world. But it’s also 200 years old. We wanted something that spoke to this generation. Something that reflected the modern voice and future of our nation. We’ve heard Jimi Hendrix’s guitar renditions as well as Marvin Gaye’s and Whitney Houston’s quintessential versions of the song. But the world had never imagined a hip-hop adaptation. With the tight-knit relationship between basketball and hip-hop, the anthem caught the attention of our young audience, transforming the old standard into a new rally cry.
Relevancy:
. We created a modern national anthem for America. Not the 200 year-old Star Spangled Banner, but something that would reflect this generation and these times.
Campaign Description:
In the biggest sports moment of the summer, Jordan Brand and Nike Basketball celebrated the best players in the world and created an anthem to symbolize the united strength of Team USA and our country as a whole. As the team set out to represent our country, Nike and Jordan Brand created a moment in pop culture and did something no other Olympic sponsor could do. We created a modern national anthem for America. Not the 200 year-old Star Spangled Banner, but something that would reflect this generation and these times.
Execution:
“We The People” was rolled out as a contemporary anthem for the U.S. men and women’s basketball teams in the middle of the Olympic games - as much a song as it was a powerful visual piece celebrating our players’ unity in a time of social division. The spot was premiered as content on-air by ESPN, before being introduced across Nike social channels. Chance The Rapper, considered the best up-and-coming talent in the music world, and all of the Nike Olympic athletes who gave their unsolicited support to the video in social media, helped the video go viral with American music, basketball, and Olympics fans alike.
Outcome:
We The People” garnered over 312 million impressions (across paid and earned media) during the ’16 Summer Olympics and had 16MM social engagements – accounting for over half of all social engagements that can be attributed to Nike during the Olympics.