JUST READ IT
December 20, 2010 • 1:22 pm • POSTED BY Kyle Arango
In every profession there are those pinnacle moments. The “makin’ it to the majors.” For most designers, copywriters and account execs it’s working on one of the big three: Apple, Coca-Cola, and of course, Nike.
Earlier this year we had one of those moments. Now we’re making it official. 160over90 is working with Nike Tennis. Swoosh, there it is.
It started with a small project—a quick turnaround to see what we could do. So, for 96 hours (pretty much straight) a team of designers and writers—running on nothing but excitement and 5-Hour Energy—burned and turned out some brand ideas that struck a chord with Nike Tennis’ marketing team.
They liked it. So much so, they adopted two of the concepts to be their 2010 global campaigns for Wimbledon and the US Open. Now the door was open to take the tennis category to the next level.
We got to work.
With names like Federer, Nadal, Serena and Sharapova, it was clear we had the best athletes in the game. We had great products to work with as well, including Rafa’s Courtballistec shoe and Roger’s Vapor Tour line. Now we needed to learn about the sport on a deeper level.
Our discovery process began when Nike invited our team to the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami to interview a slew of players, coaches, agents, journalists and commentators. From Patrick McEnroe, Captain of the U.S. Davis Team, to Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick and Serena’s Fitness Trainer, Mackie Shilstone, we questioned, delved into and prodded some of the greatest minds in the sport.
What did we find out? Tennis is kind of badass. When you take it out of the country clubs and “old money” estates, it more resembles a modern day duel or gladiatorial event than a genteel pastime. Competitive tennis is like trying to play chess while running a marathon and being in a homerun derby.
We poured all this newfound knowledge into the work—refining our original concepts to embody the sport, the events and what it means to wear Nike. Nike Tennis’ UK Division liked our Wimbledon work enough to tap us for their partnership with the RED Campaign. Under the line “Save More Than Break Points” we created outdoor, interactive and merchandise—you might have seen Serena wearing the Nike RED T-shirt we designed at several press conferences and interviews throughout Wimbledon.
For the US Open Nike took the campaign unveiling to the next level. It was launched in a massive pre-tournament event at NYC’s Chelsea Pier. Here, tennis fans were able to interact with our “Lights On. Lights Out.” campaign in-person through photo booths with branded backdrops, colossal outdoor installations, merchandise and a popup court where Roger played Rafa.
The agency also sent our Nike team to NYC so they could experience a slam event and see their work firsthand. We got to witness some great matchups, experience the energy of the tournament and see our work throughout the area, including on the fans—many of them wearing Nike shirts with our tagline on them.
This was just the beginning.
Since then we’ve been working full force on the 2011 Global Campaigns. You should be seeing the Spring and Summer 2011 Campaigns launching with the Australian Open and the French Open. Check out our case study here and come back to see more of our Nike work as it’s unveiled. Just do it.