Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai + Nike inspire China’s young football players with a dream to chase
World Cup fever has gripped the world and, once again, China watches from the sidelines. But more and more people in China are looking to the future with optimism.
Nike wanted to inspire China’s young football players by giving them a dream to chase. And having reached 170 million views in only a few days after launching, the film has clearly struck a chord.
Nike’s commercial, “Dare to Become,” by Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai shows a future where the greatest football player, long after Cristiano Ronaldo retires, is now Chinese. Manchester City fills their roster with Chinese players, and all of England cries after being drawn in a group with China. It is a fun and ambitious future, but one a younger generation of Chinese players believe in and are working to create.
Releasing a major football commercial in a country that isn’t even in the tournament might seem like an unusual choice for Nike, however this moment provided an ideal opportunity to present Chinese football fans and young athletes with a vision of what Chinese football could be, and who they could become.