A trio of production houses played integral roles in the development and making of commercials designed to drive traffic to Nike’s Web site, which enables shoppers to customize their own athletic shoes. In a sense the project underscores the creative opportunities that can emerge in the commercial production community when branding looks to not only put a human face on a client but also to reflect the individuality of its prospective customers. In this case, Web interactivity provides the outlet for this individuality via the chance to fashion one’s own footgear.
To promote www.NikeiD.com, Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., enlisted the help of directors Malcolm Venville of bicoastal Anonymous Content, Michael Apted and Tom Foley of Independent Media, Santa Monica, Calif., and Marcelo Burgos of Garlic Films, Madrid.
The directors reported that the assignment afforded them great creative freedom. “[The agency] had a very simple brief, which was anything which concerned identity or with people making choices in their lives — they had no written scripts basically, they had some thumbnail ideas so I just expanded those,” Venville shared.
He has five :15 spots going to air–“Style,” “Visualize,” “Imagination,” “Orange + Green” and “Originate.” In “Orange + Green,” the director simply captures a young boy’s freckled face. The child opens his eyes to reveal beautiful green irises. Then the NikeiD.com tag appears.
“Orange + Green” was something they couldn’t have written, the director said. “We just cast some kids and if we found a kid that we thought was genius, we’d put him in front of the camera and improvise. So it was the first time I’ve had a chance to do a lot of pure improvisation.” Equally freeform was “Style,” which features a young boy dancing to his own groove. At the same time, some of Venville’s spots did evolve more traditionally with preplanned ideas and casting for the roles.
“What’s great about this campaign is that it’s kind of taking these abstract notions, like the notion of joy or freedom, and then putting them in very particular individual human settings and situations,” Foley said. He shot two spots for the campaign, “Freedom” and “Joy,” the latter is still in post.
“Freedom” is a humorous take on the concept. In it, an older woman is lecturing her aged husband as he tries to eat lunch. We see him turn off his hearing aid and then the word “freedom” appears. For Foley the biggest challenge was casting a couple that would appear to have been together for 50 years.
Apted shot several spots for the campaign including “Perfection,” “Customize” and “Obsession.” For his commercials, the director cast real people. In “Perfection,” he showcases a man who seems to be a perfectionist when it comes to folding his shirts.
“It was fun to do it,” Apted shared. “To do it very simply without any of the razzmatazz of a commercial in a sense, just to do a pure observational piece I thought was kind of a bold idea by the agency. I thought it was a terrific idea.”
Of the spots’ genesis, Apted said that the agency gave him many concepts and told him to do those that interested him. He and Independent Media executive producer Susanne Preissler also came up with several of their own ideas. Apted described the project as freewheeling and flexible. Of the work, he said, “They’re trying to intrigue the audience. there is something slightly mysterious about it.”
Burgos contributed an animated spot for the campaign. In the black and white “Explore,” a young boy ties a bit of cord around his neck, converting his head into a balloon. He then continues on his journey, holding onto his head as it floats above him.
Apted, Foley and Venville’s spots were shot on location in and around Los Angeles.
Apted’s DP was Maryse Alberti, Foley’s was Pawel Gula, and Venville’s was Richard Henkels.