The natural continuation of a strategy stretching back two years, the new campaign by Wieden & Kennedy China seeks to show how China’s sporting heroes, both of the past and present, have something in common with the brand’s youthful target audience.
“More than a specific demographic, we’re targeting a particular spirit,” said Anne Halverson, account director at Wieden & Kennedy in charge of the Spring JDI Nike Olympic Phase I campaign.
Six athletes are featured in the campaign - hurdler Li Xiang, basketballer Yi Jianlian, Li Na the tennis player, swimmer Wu Peng, BMX rider Ma Liyun and marathon runner Zhou Chunxiu.
All of them are featured in the TVC, set to the David Bowie classic Heroes, cut with shots of youths and children playing sports.
The spot ends with a close-up of Li saying: “It’s just a game and you decide how to play”, challenging the viewer to embrace the Olympic campaign’s ‘Dare to Do’ (‘Fang dan zuo’) spirit.
“It’s important that ‘Just do it’ isn’t just a tagline, but that it connects with the audience and gives a real sense of the enthusiasm for sports that are at the heart of the brand,” said Halverson.
“Nike is a brand that knows its voice — it tries to be itself in a way that is appropriate to China, with the message that competing is fun, and that training for competition is something special.”
The campaign will run to the end of March. In addition, the campaign features print, out-of-home and interactive LED screens in subways, while nikegold.com.cn marks Nike China’s most extensive use of online campaigns to date. MindShare has been in charge of the media component.
Nike PR, in collaboration with CCTV, has also developed a documentary called Dare, which features retired high jumper Zhu Jianhua. First aired in February, it is set for an online release in March.
While earlier Nike campaigns in China have focussed on a specific youth audience, and their aspirations, the latest campaign attempets to humanise the “heroes”, as Olympic hopefuls suffering the kind of trials and tribulations that are common to all athletes.
