A few posts ago, I talked about the importance of topicality in creating ads that stand out. And how Nike is so good at taking advantage of current topics in sports.
Their latest effort has been running quite a bit; I saw it tonight during the Bears’ improbable come-from-behind OT victory. It’s a play on all of the controversy surrounding the BCS system of determining a college football champion.
The fitness of the BCS to be the final say on college football’s best team has been discussed in ways humorous and rancorous (won’t you please buy our bumper stickers and hoodies?). And who isn’t aware of President-elect Obama’s stance on the subject? When it’s a prime topic on 60 Minutes, it’s not just a prime sports topic. It is, in the words of ZZ Top, Nationwide.
So of course, Nike’s going to tackle the subject. And they do it with their usual sense of style, complete mastery of authenticity, and clever juxtaposition of words and images.
In the end, they tell us, hard work is all that matters. So it may be that they were taking a stand by not taking a side, merely expressing the inner thoughts of a true athlete, which is, of course, that the only thing you can do is go all out on every play, in every practice, in every game, and let the pollsters, computer experts, and voters do what they feel is right. State your case on the field. There is no guaranteed equation.
Makes total sense. But for me, something was missing. A fresh point of view, perhaps?
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