Nike’s split screen ad is an epic ode to togetherness

Editors sifted through thousands of clips to create Nike’s You Can’t Stop Us, which celebrates the unifying power of sport

Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the campaign, which is made using only archive footage. It cleverly combines disparate moments from different times in history, in an attempt to emphasise the many ways sport brings us together and, in some cases, helps prompt change.

It also touches on recent events, showing how people around the world have managed to keep playing in spite of stadiums and pitches being closed for lockdown. Everyday people are shown alongside familiar faces including Caster Semenya, Cristiano Ronaldo and Serena Williams.

It’s an impressive piece of editing, and it carries a much-needed positive message about people’s resilience during tough times.

The ad’s been going down a storm online as well, perhaps because it satisfies a very current need for stirring, epic ads that reflect ongoing global events.

Nike is not the only major brand to tackle the subject of coronavirus head on this week: in this spot for Coca-Cola, titled Open Like Never Before, George the Poet addresses how positive change might emerge from the pandemic.

Credits:
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Portland
ECDs: Jason Bagley, Eric Baldwin
Creative Directors: Alberto Ponte, Ryon O’Rourke
Creatives: Dylan Lee, Naoki Ga
Production company: Pulse Films
Editors: Peter Wiedensmith, Jessica Baclesse
VFX company: A52
Sound Design: Joint
Music: Cowboys in Japan