Following the Kaepernick partnership, Nike’s income jumped by 10% to $847 million in the quarter the ad was released.
Beyond the business results, the Kaepernick-led campaign was a point of pride internally.
One agency executive who works with Nike, but did not work on the Kaepernick campaign, felt it represented the “peak of Nike confidence.”
Competitors closing in
If Nike doesn’t return to developing the bold, culture-defining creative that characterized its brand, competitors like Adidas have already shown they will.
For instance, Adidas’ UEFA Euro 2024 campaign featured English soccer star Bellingham and a cover of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” The ad captured the mood of the nation and went viral ahead of England entering the final.
System1 gave Adidas’ Euros spot a 3.8 Star rating out of 5. By comparison, Nike’s Euro 2024 ad, which depicted the “madness” of soccer players, scored 2.7.
And Adidas’ TV ads this year also outperformed Nike’s ads by 23%, according to the TV measurement firm EDO, which uses signals like online search activity and website visits to determine how effective an ad was.
“Now everyone’s caught up [to Nike] and everything looks the same,” Shanley said.
The Olympics marketing sprint will show if Nike can start to reclaim some of its old magic, but the company is ultimately running a marathon.
“It’s a cultural shift that needs to happen again,” the former Nike employee said. “Nike would do well to recapture its underdog spirit, its soul of overcoming odds, celebrating human potential and courage.”
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