In 2007, as a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Air Force 1 launch, every revolution that the brand created within the basketball category and the launch of the new Air Force 25, Nike brought together its top ten athletes in a new campaign. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Rasheed Wallace, Jermaine O'Neal, Tony Parker, Paul Pierce, Shawn Marion and Chris Paul were featured in a 60-second commercial produced by the agency Wieden + Kennedy with scenes from a ¨ pick-up game¨, uniformed and in formation walking on an airplane runway.
The campaign concept was inspired by 1983's The 'Original Six' which brought the first generation of Nike athletes to defend Air Force 1 with Michael Cooper, Moses Malone, Calvin Natt, Jamaal Wilkes, Bobby Jones and Mychal Thompson. Thus, the idea was to reproduce this, delivering the legacy of Air Force 1 technology to the new generation of the brand's 'air force'.
This whole movement of renewal of AF1 gained a lot of repercussion when it was televised on MTV and put the silhouette again in the limelight of the basketball scene. With a multi-channel approach proven by its own website, offline activation and text messages, the campaign also had a special touch of hip hop culture with an exclusive track which was produced in details by Just Blaze and Juelz Santana, it had even an orchestra. See the behind-the-scenes production below:
The years have shown that Nike has become increasingly precise in its campaigns and more at the forefront of building the culture of this sport we love so dearly. Next year the brand celebrates 40 years of Air Force 1. Is there something new landing?