Before the first vote had even been read out, Nike had already called the Brownlow. Splashed across the front and back pages of the Herald Sun was an ‘Inevitable’ spot, seemingly handing the medal to Collingwood star and Nike ambassador Nick Daicos.
True to the prediction, Daicos, sporting Nike cufflinks, was crowned AFL’s Brownlow medallist with an astonishing 47 votes. This beat the previous record of 45 held by Carlton’s captain Patrick Cripps, and placed him 11 votes ahead of Geelong Cat Bailey Smith who finished second in the voting.
Despite Daicos being a “shoo in” to win the player of the season — as voted by the AFL field umpires — this was still a brave play that sparked a lot of interest across social media. Daniel Gorringe, an AFL content creator who appears under the handle Dan Does Footy, posted a video on his Instagram detailing the big play by Nike. This garnered 670,000 views, 21,000 likes and 369 comments.
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For Nike, the gamble was as much about sparking conversation as it was about backing Daicos.
“At Nike, we tell athlete stories in ways that inspire and spark conversation. We wanted to create a powerful plan that balanced simplicity and boldness to show unwavering belief in Nick. We took the risk to go early in the knowledge that whether this year, or in the future, Nick winning the Brownlow was inevitable,” Nick Atkinson, senior director of marketing at Nike Pacific told B&T.
“The reaction shows that marketing can be deeply additive to a cultural moment when the insight and idea is right. What started as a classic newspaper ad – maybe a medium that surprised people – has flexed through multiple formats and styles and generated millions of organic online views, fuelling conversation across social through creators, fans, commentators and even other brands.”
The cufflinks played just as much as a role in the campaign as the ads that were booked by Nike’s media agency Mindshare.
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“The cufflinks were a central part of the plan – we always sweat the details for the athlete and wanted to do something personal for him that could also create energy for fans on social as they were revealed,” added Atkinson.
“The energy continues with an appearance from Nick at Nike Melbourne Central on Wednesday where fans will be able to pick up their exclusive inevitable tee.”
Boasting about Daicos’ ‘Inevitable’ win, Nike kept the conversation going by lighting up the Punt Road silos in Richmond with a massive image of the AFL superstar.
“This campaign has been so special to work on with Nike. Working together to shine a spotlight on a truly deserving athlete’s accomplishment and seeing the public embrace this moment has been amazing,” said Sarsha Kalcovski, I&A manager of Mindshare.
“As a Collingwood supporter myself, this has been an incredibly meaningful campaign to be a part of.”
The Brownlow Medal is the most prestigious individual award given to the best and fairest player in the league during the regular season.
“Congratulations to the Nike and Mindshare team on their incredible Brownlow campaign. A true showcase of how a bold print execution can lift into the cultural zeitgeist, creating virality, fame and spark online conversation for a brand embedded in Australian sports culture,” said Jessica Anderson, group client partner, News Corp Australia.
Credits:
Nike
Mindshare
News Australia
