In 2012, Nike gave Casey Neistat, a New York-based filmmaker, a budget to make an advertisement for the #makeitcount campaign and the Nike FuelBand. The video shows 10 days of Casey running around the world on Nike’s budget with quick cuts, daredevil stunts, a pulsing dance track, and inspirational quotes that fit the theme both the #makeitcount campaign and the original Just Do It slogan. The video feels spontaneous – perfect for Nike’s adrenaline-filled, fitness-loving target market.
The reaction, as suggested by the 10 million combined views on Nike and Casey’s YouTube channels, was explosive. It’s inspiring and motivating, raved fans. It’s a conceited, expensive travel log, claimed critics. Many pointed out that Casey isn’t seen with the Nike FuelBand, or with any other Nike apparel for that matter.
Two questions pop into my mind after watching this again. Was it really spontaneous? Casey stated that he came up with the overall idea of the video on the run. He also claimed it was a risk because Nike didn’t know about his plans. I don’t believe that Nike didn’t know about the concept from the start. Nike chose Casey for a reason; the directors must have seen his YouTube videos and decided that they wanted a similar video for the ad.
More importantly, however, was it effective? The ad was supposed to showcase the FuelBand and support the #makeitcount campaign. I think the ad only accomplished the latter, but since Nike still benefited overall from the campaign, I believe the video was extremely effective. Casey produced an uninhibited ad that spoke to Nike’s target market, and that’s what matters. The 10 million views is a testament to how effective the ad was and still is for Nike.