Nike Rolls Out Matsuzaka Ad In Japan As Pitcher Takes Mound

Nike Launches Matsuzaka Ad In Japan Ahead Of Regular-Season Debut

A new Nike ad featuring Red Sox P Daisuke Matsuzaka debuted this week in Japan, as Matsuzaka makes his first career start in MLB Thursday against the Royals. The 30-second spot, via Wieden & Kennedy, Japan, emphasizes the increased pressure and media attention Matsuzaka faces, but also his track record of coolness under that pressure. The commercial opens with two Japanese youths waking up in the middle of the night to watch Matsuzaka pitch. A rapid sequence of ensuing images includes throngs of Japanese media, screaming groups of both Japanese admirers and Fenway Park faithful, scowling Yankee fans, the World Series Trophy, the name “Daisuke Matsuzaka” in bright lights on the Fenway scoreboard, and a diverse group of little league-age players sporting Matsuzaka’s No. 18 on their jerseys. The commercial concludes with Matsuzaka in the Red Sox locker room taking a deep breath and exhaling with a confident smile before heading to the mound. Nike plans to introduce a Matsuzaka signature fielding glove, the M18, in Japan in July (THE DAILY).

LOOK FAMILIAR: In Boston, Jesse Noyes notes the ad’s concept is “similar to a Nike spot that ran around” Cavaliers F LeBron James’ first NBA game in ’03. In the ad, James “froze for nearly a minute, making it seem like he’d cracked under the scrutiny, before the rookie laughed and took off for the basket” (BOSTON HERALD, 4/5).