Air Max Day takes place annually on 3/26 where Nike releases new Air Max collections and invites their sneaker community to celebrate relentless self-expression.

This year, Nike wanted to spotlight Air Max’s deep influences in music, counterculture, and rebellious creativity. So we dived into Air Max’s history and found much of the shoe’s mainstream footprint was actually shaped by rebellious music. It was specifically underground artists from the pirate radio era in the nineties who helped increase the shoe’s popularity. They rocked Air Max on their feet and referenced them on-air through their lyrics.

Now that Air Max is mainstream, we wanted to elevate today’s underground artists the same way they brought us up back then – through pirate radio airwaves.

For emerging artists, it’s a big deal to finally hear their music on the radio, but few get the chance to break through. So this Air Max Day, we gave underground artists radio exposure to Air Max’s mainstream audience, while creating a live entertainment experience for sneaker fans to enjoy while anticipating the new shoe release.

We tapped into the heart of who Air Max fans are and identified “Maximalist Sneakerheads” as our true target. They’re always ahead of new trends and are the first to seek out hidden gems in culture. They’re responsible for the resurgence of late ‘90s - early 2000s culture, with an appetite to engage with old media channels in fresh innovative ways. In fact, 68% of them say they like engaging with media from earlier decades to remind them of simpler times.

That’s why we transformed pirate radio into our commerce and content platform, giving Maximalist Sneakerheads both a nostalgic experience and first-access to new music and fashion.

To get on air, we hacked the frequencies between two hit music stations, broadcasting just under the FCC’s threshold. We even launched a classic radio hotline for listeners to call in to secure exclusive memorabilia, including iconic vinyls and classic Air Max silhouettes.

With the help of Boiler Room (the largest underground music broadcaster), we sourced artists and hosts straight from the local underground scene for a full day of talk and music. And to get people tuning in, we spread the word by plastering flyers all over NYC’s hotspots, just like the underground did back in the day.

Shoppers in store were also able to unlock the newly released Air Max Pulse by interacting with our live radio program – all while being exposed to the next generation of New York’s underground music scene.

By taking over pirate airwaves to give rising artists mainstream exposure, we solidified Air Max as the unofficial sponsor for underground music and rebellious creativity.

Air Max fans were so eagerly tuned-into our radio that we garnered over 839K organic impressions and over 1M earned media impressions – a big win for a campaign with a $1000 media budget.

Fans loved the music so much, they consistently requested the artists’ social media handles throughout the program. As a result, our artists’ following increased an average of 730% that day compared to their usual daily growths.

ONAIR.MAX gave the new generation of underground music a significant visibility boost while connecting the culture back to Air Max.