Nike Football’s Epic World Cup Campaign
Before reading this post, please note that words cannot do justice to the video you’re about to watch. So, I apologize in advance.
Last Thursday, a friend of mine (and basketball nut/blogger) Peter R. Casey retweeted fellow basketball nut/blogger Lang Whitaker about a video that I was not prepared for (in a good way). “Yup, that’s going viral,” Peter commented, then retweeting Whitaker, “Here’s the YouTube link to that Nike World Cup spot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idLG6jh23yE.”
I like sports. I like viral videos (Put them together, that’s what I want! <<< Inside Joke), so I clicked on the link. 450ish views? Viral, you say? What made this video so good that Peter was determined it would go viral? It only took me 7.3 seconds to get sucked in and 30 total to realize Peter was right. This video is epic, and quite possibly the best commercial (hard to call it a commercial) I’ve ever seen. Just watch:
As of 5PM Monday, May 24th, the video had 6.85 million Youtube views. As of 8AM Tuesday, May 25th, the video has 7.65 million Youtube views. So, as predicted by Peter, the video has gone viral. Why? First, the concept is brilliant, and universal. Whether you’re a football fan or not, everyone can understand and get lost in the idea of changing the world and writing the future. Second, Nike is a massive brand. Anything they do is seen by a good amount of people. Third, the event around which the video was centered, The World Cup, is a beyond-massive brand. The World Cup is unquestionably the world’s biggest sporting event, even though we Americans would like to think it’s the SuperBowl. No other sporting event affects the world’s population as much as the World Cup. Fourth, Nike Football hired famous Hollywood director and producer Alejandro G. Iñarritu (21 Grams, Babel) to direct the commercial, and he crushed it. The cinematography & art direction is brilliant (loved the Ronaldinho Youtube touch). Finally, the cast is insanely star-studded, including appearances by world-class footballers, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Fabio Cannavaro, Ronaldinho, Landon Donovan (to name a few), as well as special guest cameos by tennis great, Roger Federer, NBA superstar, Kobe Bryant, and fictional cartoon character, Homer Simpson.
After watching the commercial (four of five times), I headed over to Nike Football’s Facebook Page to see what they were doing there. Since I hadn’t yet liked the page, I landed on a custom tab titled, “Write the Future,” and was directed to “Hit the Like Button. Watch the Future.” I did so, and proceeded to watch a ten minute video about the making of the commercial (which included the actual full-length commercial not once, but twice). Nike Football also integrated one of Facebook’s new plug-ins, the Activity Feed, into the tab. Pretty cool!
I don’t even like football, but this commercial got me amped. So much so that I tweeted about it, posted the video on my blog, shared it with the entire VaynerMedia team, and now have written a VaynerMedia blog post about it. While I still probably won’t watch that much of the World Cup, I guarantee I will watch more than I would have prior to seeing the commercial. I also know that my co-worker, John Oates (who on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of how much he likes football, is a self-professed ~5.25), just said, “I want to cry” and “I just want to keep watching it over and over again” after watching the commercial. Another coworker, Keith Holjencin, who (designed the image for this blog post and) “knows nothing about soccer,” said he was “blown away.”
The point is, the world is talking about this commercial, and this campaign is an absolute home run… or game-winning goal? It’s a fantastic concept (“Write the Future”), it was incredibly well thought-out and well-executed, and its target audience was pretty darn widespread, which couldn’t have hurt. And if I, a non football fan, feel this way about the commercial and the campaign, imagine how passionate football fans must feel (kinda like how Philadelphia hockey fans must feel about the Flyers right now). The commercial just sucks you in until the very last second.
I have so many questions. How much money did Nike spend on this campaign? How much time did it take to conceptualize, plan, and film? Who was the decision maker that said “go ahead?” I would love for Nike to release an article with all of this information, and I have a feeling I’m not alone.
What do you think about the commercial? Had you seen it before this post? Does it change your views on football? Who was the biggest winner because of the campaign? Nike? The World Cup? The game of football? What other campaigns have you seen centered around the World Cup? Would love to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation below!
Author: Sam Taggart
