Campaign Report
Nike Football: 'Good Vs. Evil'
Date: 1996
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy (Amsterdam)
Creative: Glenn Cole (Copywriter) David
Helm (Art Direction)
Director: Tarsem Singh
This was an original and
groundbreaking television campaign run by Nike leading into and throughout the
UEFA European Championships of 1996 hosted in England. It defined the new
direction and identity that Nike would come to develop in future campaigns. It
demonstrated the creative insight Wieden and Kennedy could bring to their brand
identity. This was something they have been able to develop over time and was a
gateway to what would become the viral advert.
It was a step away from simply
associating the products with a literal demonstration of the product, as had
been the case with prior campaigns associated with rival agency TBWA. It delves
further into the fantasy of the avid football fan that had simply become
accustomed to mundane force fed commercials. This campaign engaged the target
market in a new way allowing the consumer to discover products as opposed to
them being the full feature. This is a non-offensive approach to the consumer
and effectively compliments their intelligence through presenting the
commercial as a story or feature film rather than merely the product, still
applied to their viral campaigns today.
The fantasy element was
developed from the process both Adidas and Nike had used when aligning
themselves and sponsoring top contemporary players. The original principle, and
still effective, was quality by association. Unlike before the roster of dream
players were in the same place at the same time. It featured several players
with definitive egos such as Eric Cantona. This was the new direction that was
needed. The shot of this collaboration (below) instantly draws the consumer
attention.
A new and visionary director
Tarsem Singh was commissioned to direct the advert. He was able to combine and
utilize the footballers with the narrative and effectively position the
products as not to obscure the narrative, key to the success of the campaign.
This was a method he would adapt in further campaigns. He used entertainment to
maintain audiences whilst the message is communicated. The focus is on the
action, aided by the product.
The opening shot spans the
coliseum as it lies in classic ruin bathing in sunlight that is quickly shaded
with the close of an eclipse. The image of a horned bull carved into stone set
in red light is then followed by a medium shot of the coliseum wall. The stamp
of a bull’s foot on the dirt denotes the entrance for a gladiator and opens the
connotations of battle. The pitch is outlined in flames and a quick shot of a
satanic like beast continues these connotations as the crowd bay for blood.
The challenge is answered by
an array of elite footballers ready to play the protagonists. They face a beast
spreading its arms as yet more of the hellish creatures emerge as the
opposition. Important to Nike’s characteristics of fun Maldini (third from
right above) says to Cantona on his right ‘Maybe they’re Friendly’ in a hopeful
tone; this is to no avail as both sides line up. The audience is instantly
familiarized with the narrative ‘Good vs. Evil’.
These two sides then commence
in battle in the shape of a match with the players being literally battered and
bruised. Luis Figo (fifth from right) is close to having his head stamped on by
spiked boots. The classical music insinuates the struggle as the players are over
watched by a satanic like creature from the stand, a satisfied smile
establishing the new equilibrium.
It all looks to be going
wrong. A demon like referee wears black goggles denoting a blind man evoking
the emotions felt toward a referee when their side is losing. Hitchcock’s
theory of equilibrium is initiated as Maldini makes a game changing tackle
signified by the resurgence of the music. The players begin to struggle back. Kluivert
(third from right) jumping above two of his opposition to win the header
building the momentum, a close up of the satanic like creature changing facial
expressions emphasizes this and he flies into the field as the goal keeper.
The build up continues as
Ronaldo (fourth from right) runs past the stereotype of a linesman, a barking
dog in hand to denote the blind man. Eric Cantona receives the ball stopping it
under the sole of his foot. A close up of his boot on the ball focuses on the
product. Importantly the music pauses at this precise moment establishesing the
new equilibrium and draws focus further to the narrative above the product, the
audience remains engaged.
Cantona then proceeds to pop
his collar, iconic in his days at Manchester United and states boldly ‘Au
revoir’ as he launches a shot at the satanic creature in goal. As the ball
rockets through the creature, wings spread and signifying the climax. “As with any sports ad, every violent action is made
sensual. By “sensual,” I do not always mean sexy; here, I am talking more about
the way gestures and impact are slowed down, scrutinized and spectacularized,
and hence, made dramatic and intense” (Sporting
Body 2012) This encapsulates the meaning behind the emphasis put into the shot,
the audience gain satisfaction from the conquest.
The creature explodes and Ian
Wright (far right) is left looking bemused once again in the sunny coliseum.
What had just happened? Was it all a dream? The ad
actually begins with the same shot, bookending the nightmarish match. (Sporting body 2012) The fantasy of the football fan is
solidified, as the audience feels gratified in the closing shot suggesting it
was all a dream, the fan could quite feasibly of had.
Although a fantasy the ad
gained some notoriety with the younger viewers. “A version of the ad has
already been banned in Denmark as it was deemed to frightening for young
children. In the UK, it cannot be shown during children’s programs and the
Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre has insisted on cutting a scene where
one of the ‘forces of darkness’ team head butts the Arsenal player, Ian Wright”
(Hall 1996) This was new ground for a football advert but this
automatically gained publicity and positive notoriety in the playgrounds
leading up to Euro 96.
The
justification for the strength of the content was defended in the creative as
it was deemed “Violence on and off the pitch has soured the games at times
over the past 20 years, but our players represent a different approach. They
take us back to the beauty of the game” (Cole 1996). The justification can
be seen in the beauty of the coliseum and the subsequent fight to restore it
and retrieve it.
The advert
was actually positioned first on Sky Sports in a half-time break for the major
match between Liverpool and Newcastle. It would then wait a week before
spreading on to terrestrial television. This campaign has had resurgence as
viral and linked to the nostalgia of a foregone era.
In the
struggle for the nine million pound Nike accounts between Wieden & Kennedy
and TBWA Simons Palmer in the early to mid nineties this campaign was a pivotal
turn for Wieden & Kennedy’s eventual triumph. It was an internationally
acclaimed and awarded campaign and took home a Cannes Lion amongst many others
solidifying it as the new benchmark in television spots.
This spot
was a new and original concept brilliantly directed with groundbreaking special
effects from the same team who produced the film Apollo 13. It was a
fantastic solution to incorporate aspects of history that Nike doesn’t hold in
regards to brands such as Adidas. It formed the basis of their new direction in
this style of campaign.
Bibliography
Hall, E.
[1996] Violent Nike Spot sees Cantona combats ’evil’ available from
http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/29577/ [accessed November 2012]
The
Sporting Body [2012] Good vs. Evil ad campaign Nike 1996 available from
http://thissportingbody.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/this-sporting-body-good-
vs-evil-ad-campaign-nike-1996/ [accessed November 2012]
Cole, G. [1996] Violent
Nike Spot sees Cantona combats ’evil’ available from http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/29577/
[accessed November 2012] 
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