Is Nike Just Doing it with Recapturing Sales During the Olympics?

Nike’s 2024 Summer Olympics campaign, “Winning Isn’t for Everyone” fuels the mindset that you must be relentlessly driven by the idea of winning. Nike makes a bold statement that elite athletes’ desire to win is the main determination in bringing home a gold medal.

Click here to view Nike’s Olympic ad.

The insights for the campaign came directly from Nike athletes, who have a shared determination and belief that if you don’t want to win, you’ll never win. “Winning Isn’t for Everyone” speaks to the determination and sacrifice athletes say is required to win. This type of determination is what set the winners apart.

Nike listened to its athletes: "I’m addicted to winning," says NBA phenom Victor Wembanyama. "The chase is what I love and what I live for. The world's fastest woman, Sha'Carri Richardson says her desire to win comes from remembering what it feels like to lose — and never wanting to feel that way again."

However, winning at all costs also comes across in a negative light. Nike’s Olympic ads’ voiceover includes statements such as, “I have no empathy. I don’t respect you. I’m never satisfied.” The ads convey that it is ok for winning athletes to show no remorse or sense of compassion: “I’m irrational, I have zero remorse, I have no sense of compassion,” Dafoe cackles in the anthem spot. “I’m delusional, I’m maniacal. You think I’m a bad person? Tell me.”

Social media content and out-of-home ads are also part of the global campaign. Billboards appearing in cities around the world pair athletes with copy such as “If you don’t want to win, you’ve already lost” and “My dream is to end theirs.”

Rather than celebrating the values of the Olympics — excellence, compassion and innovation — the campaign flies in the face to promote no-holds-barred winning.

Nike’s Summer Olympics campaign achieves key aspects of the holy grail of marketing: reaching the right person, with the right message, at the right time, in the right environment, delivering the right outcome. This campaign reaches the right person - no better sports fan base than Olympic viewers, and with the ads placed effectively in the right environment - ads running during Olympic programming across multiple channels including digital, network TV and social delivers optimal engagement.

Where Nike is falling short isin utilizingthe right message -desire to win resonates with anyone watching the Olympics, however, the tone of this campaign promotes off-putting aspects of being driven to win. Nike also falls short in delivering its campaign at the right timewith the right outcome. Gaining sales from this campaign will be difficult for Nike since many of Nike’s latest innovations won’t hit stores until 2025. Only a few new shoe editions made it out in time for the games, such as the Nike Air Sesh, a specialized breakdancing shoe.

Nike can learn from its Olympic athletes that the desire to win means firing on all cylinders while having compassion for the competing athletes who push you to your highest level!

Learn more about Achieving the Holy Grail of Marketing at www.achievingtheholygrailofmarketing.com.

Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.

Click the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friends.
The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.