Nike is one of the world’s biggest and most recognised brands, and their advertising reflects this with great aplomb. Magnanimous, visually striking, sonically superb, and immensely impacting are just a few of the things that come to mind when I think about Nike’s ad campaigns over the years.
As a footballer and a copywriter, I can say without any doubt whatsoever that no brand(although Adidas comes quite close) has managed to scale the heights that Nike Football has reached in making some of the most entertaining and memorable ads ever.
Here are three of my absolute favourite ads by Nike, hope you enjoy them as much as I (even after years since they were first launched) still do. Rarely does a commercial come along that I actually enjoy watching to the extent that I’d catch them again in my own free time, but I have to admit I’ve seen these ads a couple of times each, to say the least.
3. The Last Game
This animated advert is a 5 minute short, nothing short of sheer entertainment. Part of their Risk Everything campaign, this short is packed with inhuman skills, clone enemies, a pompous scientist, and some of the greatest talents in the footballing world today as cartoons.
2. Winner Stays On
Another video from the Risk Everything Campaign, this one is so adrenaline inducing and full of epic that it’s almost overwhelming. It also fulfils every young footballer’s dream, to suddenly transform into their favourite footballer and have all the skills and abilities they possess. It’s dazzling, brilliantly shot, pretty much poetry in motion.
1. Portugal vs. Brazil
Part of their Joga Bonito campaign, this has to be one of my favourite commercials ever made. What starts off as an innocent yet cheeky nutmeg spirals into a crazily competitive match, and the match hasn’t even started officially! The referee has to take matters into his own hands eventually, bringing an end to what is an absolute gem of an advert.