• Situation: In his first NBA season, Victor led rookies in points and rebounds, while leading the entire NBA in blocks– something a rookie hasn’t done in 30 years. This other-worldly performance puts Victor as the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, something no rookie has ever achieved.

• Brief: Celebrate Wembanyama’s historical rookie performance, signaling to the world that this wasn’t an anomaly, but the arrival of the future of basketball.

• Objectives: Elevate Wembanyama’s undeniable rookie season with an execution that could match his on-court prowess, rallying basketball fans leading up to the Rookie of the Year announcement.

• Media Insight: To celebrate Victor's out-of-this-world rookie season, we created a custom crop circle that plays into his “Alien” persona, and timed it to release during a celestial event that was taking place in his home city of San Antonio.

7’4” basketball phenomenon Victor Wembanyama had arguably the most out-of-this-world rookie season the NBA had ever seen. He’s a talent so unique that Lebron James dubbed him ‘The Alien’. A nickname that became more true with every game. Our team talked to Victor directly, where he stated, “All my life I’ve been taller than everyone on the court. So, when coaches saw me doing dribbles through the legs and fadeaways, their first reflex was to tell me not to do (it.)” There’s been this pressure to put me in a box my whole life.” This insight eventually led to our strategic approach for Victor, “Victory isn’t playing in their world, it’s winning in yours.” This research and insight helped us to honor Victor’s rookie season, using a celestial eclipse and alien-like medium that could match up to his otherworldly performance.

• Target audience: Basketball supporters and hoops fans from across the globe.

• Media planning & Approach: In order to honor Victor's season, we created a crop circle that leaned on a bespoke media execution to bring our message to life. We launched this custom execution during the April 8th Solar Eclipse, in order to capitalize on the celestial conversation that would take over culture. When scouting throughout the greater San Antonio area, we searched for large and remote locations, where we could develop a high-profile concept while keeping the surprise under wraps. Once the crop circle was complete, we captured footage using drones to encapsulate the scale of the execution. All of this work would go on to be unveiled across Nike social channels on the day of the Solar Eclipse, only minutes after the eclipses shadow was lifted over San Antonio.

With less than four weeks before the Solar Eclipse, we got the greenlight from Nike to activate this campaign. Knowing that production would need to happen quickly, less than 48 hours after approval, our teams were knee-deep in winter wheat, reviewing crop fields and farm locations throughout the greater San Antonio area. With a large field secured, we began cutting the 665-foot diameter art with GPS-guided mowers, finishing the Wembanyama alien design 24 hours later and only one week before the Solar Eclipse.

A skeleton crew of drone operators and on-site videographers captured footage, relaying back to our teams in Portland for post-production. On the afternoon of April 8th, just after the Solar Eclipse had peaked over San Antonio at 1:35 CT, the Wembanyama crop circle was revealed on Nike social channels with the caption, “The total eclipse has just begun. 🌕🌖🌗🌘.”

Upon reveal, the crop circle injected Nike into the cultural conversation. Audiences across the globe praised the simple yet impactful narrative, showcasing Nike’s ability to elevate athlete stories into cultural moments.

The execution drove massive online reactions, sparking fan conversation, theories about product releases, and whether the crop circle was actually real. Publications like USA Today, Fast Company, and Bleacher Report highlighted the moment, while fans began crafting unofficial merchandise, fan art, and their own versions of the film. Basketball commentators like Michelle Beadle, Austin Rivers, and Shea Serrano amplified the stunt and AdAge wrote, “Plenty of brands seized on the solar eclipse as a marketing opportunity. But none did it better than Nike…”

Nike earned 21M+ organic views across Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter) over the first week, exceeding benchmarks on X (Twitter) by 10600% and TikTok 3100%. Holistically, the campaign drove an estimated earned reach of ~392M impressions.