Nike has rather a lot driving on the way it reveals up on the Olympic Video games Paris 2024. It should revive sluggish gross sales and restore its declining model worth as rivals like Adidas and upstart attire firm On attempt to snatch market share.
The star ambassadors that outlined its golden age, like Serena Williams and Tiger Woods, have both retired from their sports activities or moved on from Nike. And whereas Nike has signed new companions like WNBA star Caitlin Clark, rivals are additionally proving adept at forging partnerships with the subsequent era of star athletes. Adidas has English soccer star Jude Bellingham, and On has a cope with the world’s No. 1 ladies’s singles tennis participant, Iga Natalia Świątek.
“There’s been a generational shift that hasn’t been kind to Nike,” a former senior Nike worker mentioned. “A lot of generational talent of 2024 are not wearing the swoosh.”
ADWEEK spoke with six people who find themselves both former Nike executives or labored carefully with the model, in addition to different advertising specialists, to color an image of how Nike can regain the sting that outlined its model for therefore lengthy.
An entire advertising transformation
Nike, which appointed Nicole Hubbard Graham as CMO earlier this yr, has additional reworked its advertising division to assist a significant technique shift.
The corporate has confirmed with ADWEEK that it’s as soon as once more separating its design and storytelling items, which had merged in 2020. This underscores how model storytelling has once more change into a singular focus for Nike.
Nike has additionally confirmed it has introduced again Enrico Balleri to its world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., as vp and inventive director of world model voice to raise its storytelling. Balleri is a 20-year Nike advertising maverick who oversaw lauded campaigns together with “Write the Future” for the 2010 World Cup. However since 2021, after Nike’s digital-first pivot, he’d been in a regional job in Milan, Italy, sources mentioned.
Beginning the race
Nike’s new Olympics marketing campaign marks a significant shift in angle, advertising specialists say. The spot depicts elite athletes within the peak of competitors, in opposition to actor Willem Dafoe’s voiceover: “I’m single-minded. I’m deceptive. I’m obsessive. I’m selfish. Does that make me a bad person?” The advert ends with a tagline in vibrant crimson font, which was additionally controversial as a result of it extols victory over decorum: “Winning isn’t for everyone.”
