Dive Brief:
- Nike unveiled its Olympics campaign, “Winning Isn’t for Everyone,” which examines the ruthless drive it takes to be a top athlete, according to a press release.
- Actor Willem Dafoe narrates ads that probe the qualities that motivate sporting greats, including an obsession with power, an inability to be satisfied and a lack of empathy. “Am I a Bad Person?” serves as a refrain in creative featuring legendary athletes like LeBron James and Serena Williams.
- Nike has positioned the Paris Olympics as a comeback moment. The company has contended with slumping sales and is vying to reclaim a reputation for bold, conversation-starting brand marketing.
Dive Insight:
Some Olympics sponsors have embraced a sense of feel-good sportsmanship and comradery for their marketing around the games, which kick off July 26. Nike is taking a more subversive approach with a campaign digging into qualities that are largely perceived as negative but are often motivators for best-in-class athletes.
Dafoe, an actor frequently cast in villainous roles, provides an energetic voiceover questioning whether the drive to win makes one a bad person. His narration complements footage of sports icons performing at their peak, including LeBron James, Serena Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Qinwen Zheng, A’ja Wilson, Vini Jr., Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Sha’Carri Richardson.
“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 campaign. Billboards appearing in cities around the world pair athlete ambassadors with copy like “If you don’t want to win, you’ve already lost” and “My dream is to end theirs.”
The in-your-face concept, meant to embody what it takes to achieve an elite athlete’s mindset, took direct inspiration from insights shared by hundreds of Nike’s own athlete partners, according to the announcement. Agency Wieden + Kennedy Portland led the campaign.
“Winning Isn’t for Everyone” is the biggest marketing initiative undertaken by Nicole Hubbard Graham since she stepped into the CMO role at the start of the year. Graham replaced Dirk-Jan “DJ” van Hameren, a longtime Nike veteran who served as its marketing chief for six years.
“This isn’t just a campaign — it’s about celebrating athletes and their winning mindset,” said Graham in a statement shared over email. “It’s a story about what it takes to be the best. The sacrifices, determination and grit athletes commit to in their pursuit of greatness. 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.”
Nike has positioned the Olympics as the start of its journey rediscovering “sharper and bolder” marketing that leans on athletes and key sporting moments. The sportswear giant has admitted to over-focusing on its direct-to-consumer strategy in recent years and has contended with bigger challenges from upstart brands in categories it once dominated like running.
Nike saw revenue slide 2% year over year to $12.6 billion in its most recent financial quarter and slashed its guidance for the year.
