In 2022, Nike celebrated their 50th Anniversary. But even though Nike has decades of unforgettable moments, the next generation has no connection to their iconic history and most aren't even fans of sports. The New York Times reported, “Only 23% of Gen Z said they were passionate sports fans.”

In order to reach this new generation, Nike couldn’t just retell their past through traditional media outlets. We needed to connect with Gen Z where Gen Z spend most of their time, across multiple types of new and innovative brand experiences.

Instead of just retelling the past, we invited the new generation to take 50 of Nike’s greatest moments – and reimagine them to be culturally relevant for today’s audience.

Forbes shared a study that 68% of Gen Z expect brands to contribute to society. That not only means contributing through product and entertainment, but also action.

How can the Swoosh be a symbol for change for generations? How can Serena Williams legacy inspire the future GOATs? To answer these questions, we co-created various brand experiences to pave the way for Nike’s future.

Our target audience was Generation Z, ages 13-28, a generation that will end up shaping the future of Nike for the next 50 years.

Morning Consult reported that Gen Z spends twice as much time on social media than the average US adult. So, we knew we needed to engage with this audience on their most used platforms (YouTube 88%, Instagram 76%, TikTok 68%). Snapchat even reported 92% of Gen Z want to use augmented reality for shopping, so we made sure to use innovative media tactics through AR and even AI, as Gen Z continues to enter new digital spaces at a rapid rate.

First, we dropped a social film sharing the origin story of the Swoosh, then got content creators, athletes and influencers everywhere to design and share their own Swoosh – including Gen Z faves like Giannis Antetokounpo and Chloe Kim.

A week later, we launched another social film featuring Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit, inviting the next generation to run their own race for equality through the NRC app, running over 2.5 million kilometers in 2 days.

Then instead of just reposting about the Tigerbelles, a record breaking female Black track team, we partnered with the National Civil Rights Museum to build a permanent insta-worthy monument.

And when Serena Williams retired, we created a viral AI-powered match of Serena from 1999 vs. 2017 to show the future what it takes to become the GOAT. The virtual experience broke all of Nike’s organic viewing records on YouTube.

The campaign was a huge success in reaching Gen Z, but also establishing the foundation for Nike to be an influential and culturally relevant brand for the next 50 years.

Our activations received international press coverage from the likes of The Guardian, Yahoo, Bloomberg and more, including the New York Times writing, “How Nike Won The Cultural Marathon. As the brand turns 50, it’s not letting up.”

Overall, the various executions in the campaign were able to break many brand milestones and achievements. They broke all of Nike’s organic viewing records on YouTube, achieved over 451 million social engagements, had a 400% higher reach on social than the industry average, and attributed to $4.8 billion in digital growth for Nike.