Timing is everything. It was true Thursday night for the Chicago Cubs, who are World Series champions after 108 years of futility. And it was true for Nike, which used the first ad slot after the final out of Game 7 to air the spot below from Wieden + Kennedy—a lovely, quiet salute to the positive spirit of the team during its 2016 playoff run.
Nike has been rallying the city of Chicago all week long with a "Make Someday Today" campaign featuring "living" out-of-home ads, including billboards that reacted to actual game action. Kudos to W+K and Nike for a great merging of creative and media celebrating a historic moment in sports.
In some ways, the spot echoes the "Worth the Wait" ad that Nike made when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA title in June. You have to wonder what the Indians spot looked like that Nike surely made for tonight, too.
CREDITS
Client: Nike
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
North America Creative Directors: Antony Goldstein, Chris Groom, Stuart Brown
Copywriter: Nick Morrissey
Art Director: Jon Kubik
Director of Integraded Production: Matt Hunnicutt
Sr. Integraded Producer : Molly Tait Tanen
Integrated Producer : Mauricio Granado
Digital Producer: Keith Rice
Art Production: Krystle Mortimore
Project Management: Andrea Nelsen
Studio Design Manager: Matt Blum
Studio Designer: Randall Garcia
Strategic Planning: Andy Lindblade, Reid Schilperoort, Zack Kaplan, Tom Suharto
Media/Comms Planning: Danny Sheniak, Reme DeBisschop, Alex Dobson, Emily Graham, Anthony Holton
Account Team: Chris Willingham, Alyssa Ramsey, Hannah Hewitt, Corey Woodson, Tobin Kittoe, Carlyle Williamson
Business Affairs: Dusty Slowik, Brian Cook
Broadcast Traffic : Andrea Sierra, Stephanie Goodell.
Production Company: Somesuch/Anonymous Content
Director: Daniel Wolfe
Executive Producer: Eric Stern (Anonymous Content)
Tim Nash, Sally Campbell (Somesuch)
Line Producer: Natalie Jacobson
Director of Photography: Tom Townend
Production Designer: Andrew Clark
Editorial Company: Joint/ Trim
Editor: Peter Wiedensmith/ Tom Lindsay
Assistant Editor: Kevin Alfoldy / JB Jacobs
Post Producer: Catherine Liu
Executive Post Producer: Leslie Carthy
VFX Company: Joint
2D Artist: Katrina Slicrup, Robert Murdock
EP VFX: Alex Thiesen
VFX Producer: Rebekah Koerbel, Nathanael Horton
Company: Joint
Colorist: David Jahns
Color Producer: Rebekah Koerbel, Nathanael Horton
Producer(s): Sara Fink
Sound Designer: Noah Woodburn
Song: Willie Nelson "Funny How Time Slips Away"
Music/Sound/Mix Company: Joint
Audio Mixer: Noah Woodburn
Executive Producer: Natalie Huizenga