Hasta La Creative!

As fast-paced and playful as Nike Tag from long ago, this ad shows a young man who is expected to be “the one guy short” in practically every team and every sport, ever. Famous athletes like Mike Trout, Garrett Richards, Misty May-Treanor, Miles and Lyle Thompson playing lacrosse, Mia Hamm, Andrew Luck, and Anthony Davis are all “one guy short” on their team, and the kid who responds to “hey kid” is more than willing to change gear and jump right in to pickup the slack. From basketball to running a 10K, from baseball to … Sumo wrestling? No, Nike does not sponsor any sumo wrestlers, instead he’ll play beach volleyball, lacrosse, soccer and even rugby. That could get hairy for a scrawny kid so he wisely runs away and ends up right back where he started – but now his old basketball buddy is Anthony Davis.

The soundtrack “Surfin’ Bird” by the American surf rock band The Trashmen from 1963 carries the quick cuts and repeated changing into new Nike gear very well, it’s infectious and fun. However, the song has been used as a running joke on Family Guy, so to the ears of the target market it may sound more like a joke than cool, which is slightly off-Nike tone of voice. Usually Nike has the perfect song for every ad, and more contemporary than old-school. Nike wants this ad to carry a social media effort with it, #TakeonTJ where “TJ” is that guy in any sport you want to beat.