Photo by Amada MA on Unsplash | iStock.com/winhorse
August 9, 2024
Is Nike’s Olympic Campaign Inspiring or Toxic?
Nike’s Olympics ad, “Winning Isn’t for Everyone,” has proved divisive, with fans praising the message around grit and determination and critics calling out its ruthlessness and disrespect of sportsmanship.
The 90-second ad, which has been viewed millions of times, starts with the voice of actor Willem Dafoe asking in an arrogant tone: “Am I a bad person?”
The screen is then graced with visuals of sports superstars like basketball’s LeBron James, runner Sha’Carri Richardson, tennis icon Serena Williams, French footballer Kylian Mbappé, and more. Most are seen scowling in the throes of competition.
“I’m single-minded. I’m deceptive. I’m obsessive. I’m selfish. Does that make me a bad person?” the narrator continues, eventually raising his voice in haughty disbelief, exclaiming, “I’m delusional. I’m maniacal. You think I’m a bad person? Tell me!”
After an epic sequence of athletes celebrating in competition, the ad concludes with the phrase, “Winning isn’t for everyone.”
“This is about celebrating the voice of the athlete,” says Nicole Graham, chief marketing officer at Nike, in a statement. “It’s a story about what it takes to be the best. The legacies that have yet to be shaped. And the dreams that will be made real. It reminds the world that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to win.”
The campaign, which also includes a significant out-of-home component, arrives as Nike is spending more on the Olympics this year than any other previous games as the brand struggles to return to growth. Beyond developing breakthrough innovations, CEO John Donahoe said during the company’s fiscal 2024 Q3 earnings call in March that Nike’s brand marketing “must become bolder and more distinctive,” with an emphasis on “fewer, bigger stories with greater reach.”
Among the critics of the Olympics campaign, Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby wrote, “Nike is preaching a gospel of winning at any cost, of suppressing every instinct for decency and magnanimity. It is hard to imagine a message more hostile to good sportsmanship and the Olympic spirit.”
Fernando Desouches, managing director at the advertising agency BBD Perfect Storm, wrote for The Drum, “The ad channels the no-holds-barred energy around winning a defining ongoing political trope and a departure from the more empathetic, inclusive messaging we’ve seen from Nike over the years. It feels particularly charged in the run up to the US election, and, at a time when collaboration and empathy seem critical to solve the world’s big problems, is this the right message for a brand with as much cultural cache as Nike?”
Joe Foley, editor at Creative Bloq, wrote, “It’s powerfully visceral and sparks a conversation about sporting greatness, but it suggests Nike itself doesn’t know what that means anymore.”
Among the fans, Ad Age described the effort as “an inspiring campaign that illuminates the competitiveness of athletes arriving in Paris over the next few days, and motivation for anyone who has a dream of competing.”
Jeff Beer, at Fast Company, wrote, “After decades of dominance, this recent dip in performance appears to have sparked up the swoosh’s own competitive fires. This new campaign then, marks a return of the ‘f**k you’ attitude in Nike advertising that taps into its hardcore athlete pedigree.”
Taking a different take, Scoop Jackson, a sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, believes critics are “mistaking execution for effectiveness” in how the ad stimulates debates around winning. He wrote, “The purpose of the ‘Winning Isn’t for Everyone’ campaign isn’t to make us agree with, like or embrace it or its messaging. Its purpose is to make us feel. To make us react. To make we as a society obsessed with sports to use sports to have a greater conversation about the meaning of sports and life. With the image of a swoosh at the end. Period.”
Discussion Questions
Are you a fan or critic of Nike’s “Winning Isn’t for Everyone” Olympic advertising campaign?
Will the ad’s message help win back fans for the brand?
Do you agree a return to “bolder and more distinctive” marketing campaigns will be critical for Nike’s recovery?
Poll
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Mark Self
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Gary Sankary
Retail Industry Strategy, Esri
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Nike’s campaign is very impactful, and it has gotten people talking. And that, in itself, is something of a win. However, I think it lacks any positive emotional pull, is out of kilter with a lot of modern values, and does not reflect favorably on the brand. And that’s a huge loss.
On a personal level, I hate it. It’s overly aggressive and comes across as toxic. There is no doubt athletes at Olympic level have to be extremely focused, obsessive, and have a desire to win. But that does not have to come at the expense of teamwork, humility and respect for others. Just think of Tom Daley, super talented – but a lovely, lovely person who takes out his knitting while waiting to do his dives. That’s my kind of champion.
Or look at Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles bowing to the Brazilian gymnast, Rebeca Andrade, who won gold. A fun and touching moment that has become one of the enduring pictures of the games. It stands in direct contrast to the negative and hostile tone of Nike’s advert.
There’s a short moment in time right now for a Nike competitor to respond to the negativity and hostility by launching an inspirational “this is how true champions are made” brand campaign. Wonder who would have the guts to do it?
I would love to see this!
Not my favorite message from Nike, even though the production is top class.
Of course winning at the highest level of sport requires commitment, hard training, inner drive and a competitive spirit. But true winners display grace as well. At this year’s Olympics we have witnessed this many times, thankfully.
We have also witnessed the character, grace and inspired performances of the runners-up. With this ad, Nike seems to be ignoring them.
I can only agree…” But true winners display grace as well.”
Nike’s strategy hinges on its ability to stay relevant and connected to its target audience. The key to success is to focus on initiatives that resonate with its customers and stay true to its core values.
I believe Nike’s Olympic campaign is more toxic than inspiring. The campaign’s message seems to prioritize controversy over genuine athletic inspiration, which might alienate some consumers, and might appeal to others, but it will not affect sales either way.
Additionally, the focus on polarizing themes could overshadow the brand’s core values and alienate loyal customers. However, Nike’s established market presence and customer loyalty may buffer any potential negative impact on sales. Db
I was a competitive equestrian show jumper for many years and I can honestly say I never thought of myself as any of the things in the Nike ad. Sure, I wanted to win but I was not deceptive, delusional or maniacal. I doubt every competitor is either.
This Nike ad is compelling visual clickbait. It’s not very woke, is it? I’ll take that as a positive.
I found it annoying. I just kept thinking “oh please do be quiet!”
I did, too!
First and foremost, let’s not confuse winning with bad sportsmanship; the kind of bad sportsmanship we will continue to see with increasing frequency as both parties unapologetically attack our democracy with a win at all costs presidential election whose focus on winning at any costs cares little about the destruction it causes.
Bad sportsmanship aside, there’s something insanely amazing about people whose dedication and personal sacrifice in the pursuit of a cause motivates them to out-work the rest of us. Whether you’re a world class athlete, an entrepreneur or Neil Saunders who is always first to comment on Retail Wire articles, there’s something wonderful about that. And when you consider that after all the dedication and sacrifice, the highly coveted win isn’t guaranteed, then yeah, winning isn’t for everyone. Imagine working your entire life for a chance at an Olympic win and losing by one, one- hundredth of a second. You have to be a little crazy to do that and maybe maniacal to subject yourself to try again four years later? #NotForEveryone
The good news is that I’ll be sending knitting kits to every US politician in hopes that they pursue winning with exemplary sportsmanship.
A key tenet of Nike’s brand messaging has always featured a bit of edginess, and this campaign maintains that tradition. The fact is, winning is definitely NOT for everyone, and whether that resonates is not the goal. The goal is (I think) to inspire us with the accomplishments of others.
We have had 20 plus years of participation trophies and “everybody is special and a winner” rhetoric, and, while comforting and inclusive, that fact is most sports are competitive, with winners and losers. Further, the competitors hopefully use the competition as a way to achieve whatever greatness they have in them.
Hopefully winning does NOT come at the expense of sportsmanship. If it does, THEN it becomes toxic. But listening to Willem Dafoe with Symphony #9 playing in the background while a totally jacked wrestler with no legs “walks” to wrestle his opponent, well sign me up I find that VERY inspiring!!
The “X” post hits its mark. “If you don’t want to win, you’ve already lost.” While the game face is a bit hammy, if you play, you must carry a “game face”. The video is a whole other story. The message disappoints me. The only negative word they are missing is “cheat”.
In college, I played on three National Championship teams. None of my teammates or coaches were deceptive or selfish. They were and are some of the finest people I know.
To me, some of the best highlights of the Olympics are when the winner hugs the second-place finisher. Friends? Maybe. However, it is also important to recognize that the winner would not have done as well without the competitor pushing him/her. Does “winning isn’t for everyone” suggest that the winner worked harder or was more dedicated than the other competitors?
I am truly disapointed in NIKE.
I was really put off by these ads. They reminded me of the car ad a while ago with the smug dude in his McMansion suggesting that American’s don’t take vacations. I wear sports apparel, especially shoes all the time. I am not an athlete. My athletic excellence going back to elementary school days was one interception in a flag football game and a cluth three in a rec league basketball game. There was also an ace on a par three but since the ball bounced off a cartpath and sprinkler head, I consider that luck and not skill. That said, what I picked up from the ad is that as a person who isn’t a champion, or even all that competitive, Nike is not a brand that wants me. While not being quite as offensive as another sports wear companies CEO’s comments that their clothes were not for “fat” people, (I’m out there too) it’s in that same vein. Trying to position a brand as elite and exclusive is a solid strategy. Doing so in a way that’s divisive and unattainable, not a great strategy.
I’ve never been a big fan of Nike, and ads like this are a perfect exsmple of why.
I give Nike credit for throwing it out there, and taking a risk with the brand. It’s got people talking, it’s provocative. But by focusing on an athletes darker side in competition, I don’t think it ultimately sits well for the Nike brand, and sends the wrong message to the next generation of kids growing up in sports.
Athletes should have a maniacal drive to compete, to have grit, to be the best version of themselves, to win. This also includes sportsmanship, and having a semblance of respect for competition. Winning is an inspirational thing, and we saw that in so many of our US Olympians these last few weeks. Nike appears to be at odds with it all.
I’m a fan.
Everyone who has competitively played sports at any level will relate to it. It also reminds the viewer that Nike is a performance brand.
All sports footwear manufacturers can claim performance in their brand, it’s the category price of entry. However, Nike claims a higher level in their campaign, and the attitude and bold delivery align perfectly with the brand. It’s a market leader campaign that no other athletic foot manufacturer can make.
Nike would not be the brand we know and love without its edge. The 90-second “Am I a Bad Person?” continues to push the envelope as it celebrates what it takes to reach the pinnacle of performance on the Olympic level. Impactful and buzz-worthy, Nike has succeeded in controlling the conversation and defining winning at the highest level.
The brand purposely blurs the intense moments of competition in naturally occurring zero-sum games with the post-event grace and sportsmanship (being a person) that we witnessed throughout the Olympics. To create this provocation, Nike chose to focus on the former and ignore the latter. A true athlete practices both, but to reach the heights of your sport, you must be able to mentally isolate in the former.
Not every ad needs a spirit of Kumbaya. This raw, honest depiction of discipline at the highest level of sport reflects how Olympians are focused and driven to win. They want gold, not a participation ribbon. This ad is as unapologetic as Michael Jordan on the court in The Last Dance and that’s why it stands out. Winners are built different.