Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us”–directed by Oscar Hudson of Pulse Films for Wieden+Kennedy–won the primetime commercial Emmy on Sunday (9/12) during the third of three Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies held this weekend at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
The spot shows how–in the face of unprecedented challenges, including a pandemic–the power of sport still inspires. We have not stopped needing sport and it continues to be a source of inspiration, showing the world what’s possible when we come together.
Narrated by Megan Rapinoe, U.S. soccer star, two-time World Cup Champion and equality activist, the film shares a dynamic split screen series detailing 36 pairings of athletes and relating the kinetic movement of one sport to another. The collective of everyday and elite athletes includes Rapinoe, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, Eliud Kipchoge, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kylian Mbappé Developed through research of over 4,000 individual pieces of footage, the resulting montage underscores commonalities shared by athletes around the world, highlighting connections and unity we may not always see, and shows the platform that sport provides for athletes from all levels and all walks of life to raise their voice, advocate for change and stand up for our communities.
“You Can’t Stop Us” topped a field of nominated commercials this year which also consisted of: Apple AirPods’ “Jump” directed by Sam Brown of Imperial Woodpecker for TBWAMedia Arts Lab; Apple Watch Series 6’s “It Already Does That” helmed by Craig Gillespie of MJZ; “Alexa’s Body” for Amazon Alexa, directed by Wayne McClammy of Hungry Man for Lucky Generals; “Better | Mamba Forever,” a Nike tribute to the late, great Kobe Bryant directed by Melina Matsoukas of PRETTYBIRD for Wieden+Kennedy; and Beats by Dr. Dre’s “You Love Me,” also directed by Matsoukas, for agency Translation, LLC.
The win for “You Can’t Stop Us” continues an Emmy tradition for Nike and Wieden+Kennedy. Nike’s “The Morning After”–directed by Spike Jonze of MJZ for Wieden+Kennedy–won the primetime spot Emmy in 2000. And Nike’s “Dream Crazy”–directed by Lance Acord, Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki and Christian Weber of Park Pictures for Wieden+Kennedy–earned the Emmy in 2019.
