Bend it like the Chinese players

President Xi Jinping would be pleased with this Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai campaign showing the confident swagger of the Chinese football team on the world stage since he had laid out the grand dream for China to win the World Cup by 2050.

The Chinese president meant business by roping in rival brand Adidas, an official World Cup sponsor, and Manchester United to teach schoolchildren football; leaving Nike to catch up with the 'Dare to Become' narrative of this piece of this campaign, which incidentally starred real teenage football players from the Nike Football League in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Ad Nut likes that the football action in the campaign takes place on and off the pitch, from the face of a Chinese football on the bubble gum nail polish colour to the VR game. The campaign reportedly went to air when underdog teams Russia and Japan made it to the quarter finals of the just concluded World Cup. 

CREDITS

Nike China

Nike GC VP Marketing: Steve Tsoi
Nike GC Senior Creative Director: Simon Lee
Nike GC Football Brand Manager: Samuel Minns
Nike GC Brand Communications Director: Che Lin
Nike GC Brand Communications Manager: Andy Liu

WIEDEN+KENNEDY SHANGHAI

Executive Creative Director:  Ian Toombs, Vivian Yong
Creative Directors: Matt Skibiak, Dong Hao
Art Director: Josh King, Max Pilwat
Copywriter: Josh King, Max Pilwat
Head of Integrated Production: Sanne Drogtrop
Executive Producer: Bernice Wong
Producer: Fang Yuan, Angela Liu
Senior Planner: Leon Lin
Planner: Chris Kirkup
Business Director: Dino Xu
Account Manager: Shawn Kai
Senior Account Executive: Xueer Ren
Head of Project Management: Nicole Bee
Business Affairs: Jessica Deng, Kathy Zhan
Head of Designers: Fish Ho
Designer: He Fan
New Business Director: Jessica Sinn PR Manager: Rachel Xiao

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