Clever Creative: Nothing Beats a Nike Ad

Nike’s new ad, “Nothing beats a Londoner,” does a great job capturing the culture and diversity in the streets of London. The 3-minute short film jumps from youth to youth, focusing on how they overcome the adversities pertaining to their training and performing at the top levels of their sports. From dealing with family problems, to being struck by lighting from England boss, Gareth Southgate, this short film has a lot to say in only 3 minutes.

While the ad does include famous athletes and celebrities, Nike doesn’t focus the message of the film towards them, they simply add levity to the campaign. Nike used 258 locals to make this film and gave each of the featured young athletes their own spots in the ad to use as content to promote themselves through their own social media channels.

From Mainstream to City Streets

As we all know, being a young athlete can be stressful and this ad depicts dedicats athletes sharing what it takes to become the best. This campaign encompases the trials young athletes go through from a fresh new perspective that doesn’t just showcase mainstream athletes telling you to wear Nike so you can be just like them. This approach is much more authentic and relatable to London locals (and non-locals), which is exactly what Nike was going for. In the short film you won’t see big flashy stadiums or a deux ex machina game winning score, but you will see committed young players running through the streets, battling for spots on an overcrowded multi-purpose court, and struggling to practice through wind and rain.

A Winning Attitude

The tone of this film creates a desire to win and not be beaten, which, according to Wieden+Kennedy, is the attitude you’ll find on these London streets. While this attitude may be emulated by many athletes around the globe, Nike’s target market of young athletic city-dwelling Londoners are sure to be impressed with this ad. The sense of empowerment that is displayed is exactly the attitude younger athletes need to be adopting if they want to be the best. While the tone may come off as a bit aggressive or competitive, Nike is showing the reality that most athletes face every day in order to overcome their challenging environments. At the end of the day, it is this sense of imperiousness and pride that unites them together and makes them stronger.

The ad does it’s job encompassing how tough it can be for young players to succeed amidst all the hussel and bussel of the big city, but it also shows another side of London that is much more fun and easy going. For example, Michael Dapaah, better known by his MC alias Big Shaq, makes a hilarious appearance in a barber shop where he boasts about being good friends with Arsenal forward, Alex Iwobi. To say the least Iwobi laughs in his face and makes him cry.

Promote Locally to Expand Globally?

Many commercial commentators think that Nike’s specific focus on London may create a sense of discouragement among neighboring areas. While it does bear the risk of not attracting potential customers in other parts of the country, Nike hasn’t chosen London because they thinks it’s superior. They choose London because they deem it one of 12 focus cities that have the most opportunity for growth. And this, in turn, will aid in their own growth. We think this sounds like a great strategy that a lot of big brands neglect while they market globally.

What do you think of Nike’s short film “Nothing beats a Londoner”? Let us know in the comments on our social media pages!

If you’re looking for some clever creative of your own, feel free to contact us, and be on the lookout for next week’s instalment of Clever Creative!

Written by Dane Christiansen, during his Spring 2018 internship at GEM Advertising.

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