Nike at 60: Six of the best

Richard Denney, Joint CCO at St Luke's London, on Nike Tag [2004]

There have been so many belters over the years, and so many I wish I’d done. The 90s saw a breadth of footballing classics, from Park Life to Airport, all of which inspired and pushed me when I created Carlsberg’s Best Pub Team in the World. 

I don’t doubt they will be shared multiple times in this retrospective, so I’m going to go for Frank Budgen’s genius vision of Tag. I loved the idea of turning a simple, childhood game into an adult one, and then turning the streets of New York into the playground. Nike wasn't just for the world of sport and its athletes, we could all get involved. And no need for celebs either. 

I loved the idea of turning a simple, childhood game into an adult one.

The music that was chosen to complement Frank’s stellar direction was as original as the idea itself, punctuating moments in the film with real perfection: the public hiding in long lines behind the waste bins, the chaser with his hand trapped in the metro door, trying his darndest to get that tag. And then the seamless and natural introduction of the product as the commuter waited for the next train, only to be screamed at by the entire train carriage, who were all safe from arms reach, to run. Then the sign off. The chase, the pause, the line. 

A masterclass in idea and craft.

Ali Ali, director at Good People Films, on Nike Write the Future [2010]

Needless to say, there’s no shortage of great Nike spots out there, but my pick would have to be Alexandro Inarittu’s Write the Future. It’s the one that stood out the most for me. On the most basic level, and at first glance,

it’s just another vignettes spot that cuts from one part of the globe to the other. Very pedestrian you would think. 

But no, not really. This spot single handedly changed how we do sports ads forever. It elevated the standards over night, and it was no longer ok (unfortunately, for other directors like myself) to just do another vignettes ad. 

Cinematography, music and camera work aside, there’s some brilliant storytelling in that film. That only an Oscar-winning director like Inarittu can bring. Not just one, but multiple storylines. All brilliant. Canavaro, Ronaldinho, Fabregas, they all have stories. Wayne Rooney's story is great, and adds unexpected humour to the spot. The music, and the cut to white-trash Rooney coming out of a trailer one minute and 15 seconds in is pure genius. 

Write the Future also did a lot to propel spot durations into the two and three minute mark, as if to say that the TV spot is now an odyssey; not a sprint, but a marathon. The cutting to YouTube and mixed media, to show Ronaldinho's trick move explode and go viral, in and of itself went viral in adland. And everyone copied it. 

I think its acronym says it best. WTF!

Nina Holmgren, director at SMUGGLER, on Nike Street Tennis [1995]

Choosing a standout from Nike's back catalog is challenging, since there are so many spots to choose from. They have always been the frontrunners of innovative and inspiring work. So, I decide to pick one that also resonates with me on a more personally level.

They have always been the frontrunners of innovative and inspiring work.

Coming from a competitive sports background, and being passionate about the game of tennis, I found this little gem from 1995 featuring Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. The spot has always stood out to me, and is one that also contains all the things I really love about the sport.

The playfullness, the fun, the attitude and the excitement. And I love how Nike, with this spot, also disrupted a bit the game of tennis by, instead of a traditional court, having a battle play out in the middle of the streets in NYC rush hour.

Amanda James, editor at Final Cut, on Nike Women Keep Up [2005]

Everyone’s choosing Megaforce's Londoner, so we’re all picking our second favourite right? Only joking, but it obviously right up there, and for all the right reasons, it felt so refreshing and fun and was an absolute beast in production terms, as Nike ads so often are. 

I’m instead going to talk about a much smaller Nike ad that isn’t ‘the best’, but one that had a big impact on me when it came out. It is Nike Women Keep Up, directed by Johan Renck. It came out nearly 20 years ago in 2005, and featured a dancer in a weird, dingy hanger, duelling with three massive speakers. Very simple but very powerful idea. (I'm not fan-girling on Joe Guest here, who edited it, but he coincidentally also cut Londoner). 

[I was] really excited to see advertising for women looking every bit as cool and serious as advertising for men.

I first saw the offline while Joe was still working on it and remember feeling, firstly, very jealous of him because I would have loved to have got my teeth into it, but also really excited to see advertising for women looking every bit as cool and serious as advertising for men, which at the time felt pretty ground breaking, especially in sport. As I said, it's not the biggest, flashiest Nike spot, but it felt like something was changing for women in advertising, which for me was everything.

Sam Walker, ECD at Uncommon and director at Pulse Films, on Nike The Morning After [1999]

I love Nike commercials. They were part of the reason I got into advertising. Being asked which is your favourite Nike ad is a bit like being asked which is your favourite Beatles song. So many great ones to choose from. I love Charles Barkley's I’m Not a Role Model. I love Good Vs Evil. I love Write The Future. I love Take It To The Next Level. I love Jordan Frozen Moment. All great. All different. All reference points.

Being asked which is your favourite Nike ad is a bit like being asked which is your favourite Beatles song. 

But if I had to pick one then I’d pick Nike Y2K The Morning After, directed by Spike Jonze. The film is from the turn of the millennium when everyone suddenly became worried about the ‘Millennium Bug’ - an innocuous computer glitch that might have might accidentally triggered the end of the world. 

Funny idea. Perfect global cultural resonance. Flawlessly delivered. I love the scale. I love the ambition. I love the timing. I love the crying in the car. I love the giraffe. I love the jogger saying his usual “morning”. And I love the Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. Brilliant. 

I loved Nike commercials when I was a kid. And I still love them decades later. I love the fact that a brand as great as Nike was launched by a creative as great as Dan Wieden. And I love that their continuing ambition and excellence means his spirit lives on. 

Brendan Gibbons, director at Station Film, on Nike Failure [1997]

The spot that jumps out for me is Failure from 1997. I probably reference the idea behind this ad on a weekly basis — the fact that no one missed more shots than the greatest player that ever lived. That’s an incredibly powerful thought. And it gives a boost to all of us normal people trying to exceed expectations. 

I love the simplicity of the piece. It’s just Michael walking into the arena in slow-motion while we hear his thoughts in voice over. The film has the feel of those glamorous 'The Night Belongs to Michelob' ads I remember from when I was a kid, dreaming of being able to drink my way around mid-80s Manhattan at midnight — pure romance. 

I probably reference the idea behind this ad on a weekly basis.

When I was in college, my brother gave me a book of short stories written by Jimmy Buffet. One of the stories was about a character who had some tough times, but relished the life he was leading. I don’t remember much more about him, but this line has stayed with me forever. It was, “If you decide to run the ball, just count on fumbling and getting the shit knocked out of you a lot. But never forget how much fun it is just to be able to run the ball.” 

I feel those words in this ad. And that speaks to me about as loudly as anything I’ve ever heard.