On 17 July, ahead of the start of the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup, sportswear behemoth Nike launched a campaign called ‘What The Football’ which shined a spotlight on a group of athlete ambassador female footballers from around the world who are revolutionizing the sport and inspiring millions through their skills and athleticism.
Developed in harness with agency Wieden & Kennedy, Nike Football/Soccer’s multi-channel campaign rolled out three days ahead of the kick off of a tournament jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand between 20 July and 20 August.
The integrated campaign, which promotes the brand, a set of tournament relevant products and packs and am 11-strong team of its leading player endorsers (large drawn from its national team kit supplier tie-ups), aims to ignite excitement around the event by capturing the essence of women’s football and its impact on the game by showcasing the skill, dedication and determination of female footballers who are breaking barriers and inspiring a new generation to pursue their dreams.
‘What The Football’ is not only a celebration of female soccer star sporting achievements and the rising popularity of the game, but it also represents a shift in Nike’s athlete partnership model as it ‘aims to listen and serve athletes holistically’. According to Nike, ‘the idea is that by amplifying the voices of these remarkable women, the brand is empowering them to bring about positive change in the sport and beyond’.
The campaign is spearheaded by a fun anchor film, which plays on a father/daughter relationship which sees the dad wake up after 25 years in a coma, and stars a team of 11 Nike female footballer ambassadors: Ada Hegerberg, Alex Morgan, Asisat Oshoala, Chloe Kelly, Debinha, Grace Geyoro, Kadeisha Buchanan, Megan Rapinoe, Sam Kerr, Sophia Smith, and Wang Shuang.
The hero spot is backed by 11 individual video episodes: each continuing the themes from the spearhead commercial and telling the story of the individual player ambassadors: providing a glimpse into their journeys, challenges and triumphs and enabling fans to connect with their favorite athletes on a deeper level.
These story spots can now be watched on the official Nike Football YouTube channel.
The creative encourages viewers to ‘download the Nike App for more athlete stories’ and to ‘shop the 2023 Nike National Team Kits and Collections’, while also using its player ambassador team to promote specific products.
Nike also created a set of ‘dedicated and insights-backed recovery spaces’ for the athletes and also marketed locally around specific partner national teams.
“At Nike, we have always firmly believed that the voice of the athlete has the power to change the world. For the past 50 years, we’ve worked with athletes who share our values and vision to move the world forward through the power of sport,” outlined Nike Vice-President Of Global Women’s Sports Marketing Tanya Hvizdak at the campaign launch. “As we look to the future, many of our female athletes have a fresh perspective and ambition to create even bigger change. Together with them, we are partnering to deliver new product innovations and services, support communities, and expand sport for the next generation.”
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The Beavertown (Oregon) based sportswear giant’s 2023 tournament marketing followed on from its ‘Wrecking Ball / Park The Bus / Our Beautiful Game’ NWSL season start campaign, as well as its FIFA Qatar 2022 Men’s World Cup ‘Footballverse’ work and its ‘Never Settle’ UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 campaign.
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