Nike’s “Winning isn’t for everyone: Am I a bad person?”
Welcome to the AdMiration newsletter! Each week we analyze new and noteworthy ads from brands around the world to give you our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection).
This week’s ad: “Am I a bad person?”???
This ad is part of Nike’s “Winning Isn’t For Everyone” campaign that rekindles the old Nike spark that made it a challenger brand. The brand is clearly aiming to go back to its original messaging and tone of voice in which the brand revered great athletes, often in a provocative way. Nike famously said “You don’t win silver. You lose gold” as part of its 1996 Olympics campaigns — and this campaign certainly has that same energy to it.
The ad opens with a close-up of a young athlete looking fiercely at the camera as the voiceover, narrated by Willem Dafoe, asks the question: “Am I a bad person?” The ad moves on to other close-up shots of athletes considered to be some of the best in their field like Lebron James, Kylian Mbappé and A’ja Wilson, among others, competing in their sport.?
The voiceover continues “I’m single minded. I’m deceptive. I’m obsessive. I’m selfish. Does that make me a bad person?” The viewer sees more moments from world-class athletes giving it their all, while the voiceover continues to disclose their inner thoughts around not being satisfied, driving for power and lacking remorse as Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 intensifies in the background.?
Throughout the clips, the voiceover asks repeatedly “Am I a bad person? Tell me. Am I?” When Symphony No.9 reaches its iconic grand crescendo, the audience witnesses moments of joy and success for the athletes they’ve been watching during the ad in which they score points, win matches and beat their opponents.?
The ad concludes with a message on screen saying “winning isn’t for everyone,” followed by some final close-up shots of the athletes and a red Nike swoosh on a black background.?
3 facts
2 learnings
1 reflection
Being bold and shaking up your communication approach can be a highly successful move, particularly if your brand is losing share to other players.?
However, it’s important to consider that boldness won’t necessarily land universally. Understanding your target audience and ensuring your approach will appeal to them is key.
For more data & analysis
There’s a lot more to say about this one!?
To read more: Go to the Zappi blog for a more detailed look at this ad’s performance — including a look at which groups don’t understand the ad or find its approach negative and which find it brilliant and inspiring.?
To watch more: Check out our video below where I walk through the data within the Zappi platform with Isabella Franzini Monteiro , Zappi’s insights manager.
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Until next week,
Strategist, Curious storyteller, People(r), Growth hacker
2 个月Sithokozile Ngwane
?? Chief Marketing Officer at Zappi | ??Top 50 CMO on LinkedIn | ?? Harvard Business Review Contributor | ?? Latest Book: Take Your Company Global | ?? Get My Newsletter: Making Global Work
2 个月This ad does what so many of the best creative works do: it makes you think, and it provokes discussion. Along the way, it keeps a brand top of mind. This ad really made me think about how harsh people are as they judge athletes and feel as if they "own" them somehow, especially during the Olympics. I've seen many people post negative comments about Simone Biles recently with some labeling her a "quitter" simply because she took a much-needed mental health break during her career, and in spite of her incredible accomplishments in these Olympic games, people continue to raise her past and hold it against her for reasons I'll never understand. Other professions are not subject to this extreme level of scrutiny and criticism... while the expectations of their fans are for them to uphold performance that is so measured and visible. This ad really got me thinking and the analysis in the blog post is fantastic. Great work Isabella Franzini Monteiro, Kim Malcolm and Katie Sweet!