Nike’s Risk Everything Video

Nike is a global athletic apparel manufacturing and retail company.

Audience: B2C

Type: Hero: Standalone assets that dive into a topic in-depth to give readers a solution to their challenges, usually as the centrepiece of a campaign.

Campaign Title: Risk Everything

What It Is

Nike’s Risk Everything video arrived during the 2014 World Cup, featuring internationally renowned athletes in Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Neymar. None of the three have any speaking lines in it, allowing the background noise to set the scene and show the ever-pervasive weight of fan expectations on these players at the first match draws near.

Viewers watch as the athletes make their way to the stadium, passing scores of fans, criticism from analysts and jerseys hung up in their honour along the way. The video makes a distinct case that to bring glory to their country at the highest level, athletes have to be willing to risk everything that comes with it.

Why We Like It

Fans and onlookers alike are so far removed from what a superstar athlete goes through, it can be difficult to empathise with their situation. Nike does a brilliant job of putting viewers right in the driver's seat, letting them feel the weight of expectations as they make their way to the pitch.

How We’d Add To It

Risk Everything is a video that depends on external influences - radio, pundits, fans - to help viewers share the same pressure that athletes have to perform. More interaction between the players and fans would have really helped drive this feeling home, especially if the video extended to the pitch and the player made a mistake or let the crowd down.