In honor of its 50th anniversary, Nike is bringing back one of its most iconic ad campaigns, while also hinting at its future. The sportswear giant on Sunday began airing “Seen It All,” a one-minute video with Spike Lee reprising his role as Mars Blackmon, the “She’s Gotta Have It” character that appeared in Nike marketing in the late 1980s. .
The commercial showcases the past, but also promotes what’s to come, as Nike looks forward to another half century of sportswear dominance. The video shows Lee playing chess outside against a young woman. He recounts all the great sporting moments he’s seen in recent decades, like the rise of Kobe Bryant, football greats Mia Hamm, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, and record-breaking runner Steve Prefontaine. “There’s nothing I haven’t seen,” says Lee as Blackmon.
His opponent retorts, “Fine old-fashioned, but with all due respect, the past was great and all, but the future is here.” She talks about current athletes like Naomi Osaka, Chloe Kim and Ja Morant: “You haven’t seen anything yet,” she says before winning the chess game. Lee directed the film. Blackmon’s original “Spike and Mike” campaign starred Lee alongside Michael Jordan and has been credited with helping move the needle with black representation in advertising.
Both works were created with Wieden+Kennedy, a longtime partner of Nike’s creative agency. Experts said the original campaign resonated with the wider audience, but it was also “unapologetic, black.” That work paved the way for Nike to pursue other landmark campaigns, such as Colin Kaepernick’s “Dream Crazy” campaign four years ago. Kaepernick does not appear in the new spot.
Nike’s new anniversary campaign began airing on Twitter on Sunday afternoon. “Our new film starring and directed by Spike Lee will leave you wondering. #nike50,” read the tweet accompanying the video. Two days ago, Nike teased its anniversary release on Instagram. “It’s our 50th anniversary,” the post read. “So we’re starting a week of legends from the past and the future that inspire us.”
Translated matter from Ad Age – Adrianne Pasquarelli.
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