Nike :::Men versus Women Challenge

BRAND OWNER:Nike
CATEGORY:Accessories/ Clothing/ Footwear
REGION:Global
DATE:Mar 2009 - Apr 2009

Following on from the success of the Nike+ concept, a community for runners which allows people to track their progress, plot routes and connect with fellow runners, Nike wanted to create a new spirit of competition.

Nike+ sees a transmitter in certain Nike shoes transfer data wirelessly to an iPod nano, an iPod touch or a Nike+ SportBand, including information on time, distance, pace and calories burned. This is then stored on www.nikeplus.com.

Users can set each other challenges in order to motivate themselves.

Nike’s latest challenge concept was simple, Nike Men vs Women Challenge. The campaign responds to the popularity of this type of challenge set by the Nike+ community.

The two teams are given 38 days to clock up as many miles as possible. The team with the most miles after the 38 days wins.

The campaign was given mass coverage with a star-studded TV ad dripping with celebrities including footage of Eva Longoria throwing real life husband Tony Parker's trainers off the balcony. Tennis ace Rodger Federer, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, long distance runner Paula Radcliffe, hip hop dancer Sofia Boutella and Liverpool footballer Fernando Torres also make appearances. Visitors to www.nikeplus.com can tally kilometers and monitor how their team were fairing against the opposite sex.

This was supported by calls to action on social networking sites including Facebook and MSN. Users could also download relevant content including a widget monitoring which team is winning.

The campaign is still ongoing, but in 2008, this was one of the most popular types of challenge on www.nikeplus.com, with runners contributing nearly 2.5 million kilometres.

To see the video, visit: http://www.rightbrainleftbrainblog.com/2009/03/nike-men-vs-women-.html