Nike Advertising Notes: Company Reintroduces Air Max Virtues

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In Nike’s new Air Max ad campaign, athletes are shown “overcoming the mental and physical pain of sport” in two spots created by Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam, according to Sarah Woods of BRAND REPUBLIC. The TV ads “reintroduce the performance benefits of Air Max to athletes.” The first spot, titled “Endure,” shows Barcelona MF Ronaldinho “being carried off the pitch,” British marathoner Paula Radcliffe “lying on the floor in despair during a race,” and WTAer Maria Sharapova “looking mortified after losing a shot.” The spot ends with the tagline, “A little less hurt,” referring to the Nike Air cushioning. The second spot, titled “Defy,” “attempts to emphasise Nike’s new 360 air technology and highlights the moment in all sports when the athlete is airborne and experiences a sense of weightlessness.” It ends with the tagline, “A little less gravity” (BRANDREPUBLIC.com, 8/29).

TOUGH CHOICE: In Akron, Brian Windhorst reported there is a “giant sticker affixed to the floor just past the turnstiles” at the train platform near the Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo featuring an ad for Nike asking, “LeBron or Kobe?” The ad is part of a promotion Nike is running around the FIBA World Championship that “offers fans a free gift tied to one of the players and is aimed at drawing visitors to the company’s Japanese basketball Web site.” Kobe Bryant is not with the U.S. team after undergoing knee surgery last month, though Nike will bring him to Asia “soon for promotional work” (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/28).

NEW JOB: Publicis Groupe has “picked up its first Nike business with the appointment” of Fallon Worldwide, Singapore, to handle the company’s advertising, “assigned on a project basis,” in Southeast Asia. Previously, Nike’s advertising in the region was developed by WPP Group’s Singapore-based Ogilvy Red Card (AD AGE, 8/28 issue).