For the first time in 27 years, we saw a Nike commercial in the Super Bowl. Has it really been that long? Hard to believe that one of—if not the—world’s greatest marketing brands hasn’t been on the big game stage for almost three decades. “Hare Jordan” is arguably a Top 10 all-time Super Bowl ad.
Blame complacency, the fragmentation of media and culture, or whatever you like, but getting the swoosh back to the Super Bowl just feels right. Not only that, but the brand is using this opportunity to re-establish its hardcore athlete bonafides, in case anyone forgot.
Created with Wieden+Kennedy, and narrated by Grammy winner Doechii, here we get a cranked up, black and white film, set to Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” It features top athletes like ballers Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, JuJu Watkins and Sabrina Ionescu; footballer Alexia Putellas, tennis star Aryna Sabalenka, sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, and more, all showing the various ways they’re proving critics wrong.
Chief marketing officer Nicole Hubbard Graham says the brand returned to the Super Bowl in order to tap into one of the very few mass, shared cultural experiences we have left. “Thinking about the Super Bowl and thinking about this moment, it felt very timely to tell this athlete story,” says Graham. “Women are just absolutely shattering records right now, selling out stadiums, ticket sales, commanding contracts like you’ve never seen before, and being placed with probably some of the harshest expectations of how you’re supposed to act. And I think they will redefine what it means to be athletes and personalities of the future.”
Down on your luck. No one believes. The odds are stacked. Nike is using the most reliable premise in all epic sports stories to not only make a point about any individual athlete, and the state of women’s sports, but also to give a not-so subtle middle finger to all the shade the brand itself has been thrown over the past year or so.
Attitude adjustment
Soon after Graham took over as CMO, her first order of business was to talk to the brand’s elite stable of athletes. What she heard most often was the notion of winning had a losing reputation in the world. “The whole idea of being maniacally focused and obsessive and following your dreams to no end was sort of becoming a little bit taboo in society,” says Graham. “We thought that was a really interesting insight. And that led to the Olympic work.”
“Winning Isn’t For Everyone” was an ode to the uncompromisingly competitive. Narrated by Willem Dafoe, the work was reminiscent of Nike’s campaign for the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta that featured the tagline, “You don’t win silver, you lose gold.” As I wrote at the time, the new Olympic work marked a return of the “f**k you” attitude in Nike advertising that taps into its hardcore athlete pedigree.
The Super Bowl campaign is the start of a larger campaign that will run into 2025, all looking to tap back into Nike’s connection to athletes by using the same foundations of style and emotion that built the brand in decades past.
“This brand wasn’t built on Google ads or clicks, it was built on feelings, and big, disruptive, irreverent, emotional ideas.” says Graham. “That has been a really important strategy for us, and obviously with our partners at Wieden. How do we make sure that we are very much athletes over algorithms?”
Bigger picture
The brand will need all the emotional power it can get to counter the headwinds it’s been facing. Last summer, Nike saw its biggest stock drop since 2001. Second-quarter revenue dipped by 8%. The brand is up against steep competition across major sports like running, thanks to a resurgent Adidas and Brooks, as well as newer players like On and Hoka. Critics point to a lack of innovation, being more about streetwear Air Jordans and Dunks than performance products.
Emarketer senior analyst Zak Stambor says that the brand has taken a lot of steps to identify its problems and to right the ship. Getting back to iconic advertising is just a piece of it. “For all of Nike’s challenges, the power of the brand remains incredibly strong,” says Stambor. “If the marketing can lean on that core strength, it likely will resonate. Then comes the need for everything else. You don’t want the marketing to drive the ship, it should be following the lead of the innovation, but it’s still a significant part of the puzzle.”
Last year, particularly with the arrival of Graham, the brand started its mission to get back to the strategy co-founder Phil Knight espoused: “First capture the market for hard core athletes with innovative performance gear, and the casual consumer will follow.”
Graham agrees and describes Nike’s biggest strength as a triangle that is built on its athlete partnerships. Unique insights lead to innovative products, which are then talked about through aspirational and inspiring ways.
The work appears to be backing that up. Executives said on a recent earnings call that there are “truly transformative” sneakers coming for spring of 2025. Last week, the brand revealed A’ja Wilson’s long-awaited signature shoe, to much fanfare.
“We’re getting back to that trifecta,” says Graham. “That is our winning playbook, and that’s what you’re going to see from us over and over and over again.”
If Nike can’t be iconic, it’s going to push its hardest to be iconic.
