My Most Immortal Ad: Kay Hsu
In the run-up to this year’s Immortal Awards, our jurors will each select an ad that they believe deserves the title of Immortal.
Kay Hsu, global lead and director of Instagram, is next up in the series with an ambitious Nike campaign from Wieden + Kennedy and Dirty Robber…
Breaking2 | Nike (Wieden + Kennedy and Dirty Robber, 2017)
Breaking Two is a feat of many things. Science, history, innovation – plus human ingenuity and heart, hurled together beautifully to tell a story about the true potential of humankind. It has all the factors that make it great: a hero who is up for the biggest challenge of his life, the thrill of an unknown ending, the stage of a windy desert and of finicky climate, a dramatic set up that is told in real time as it happens, and utterly excellent execution.
As an audience, we had a direct view into the blood, sweat and tears of the team that participated in this, and it was intense to see the risks that Nike was taking on in giving people a less controlled view of their very big, very powerful world. Though Eliud Kipchoge didn’t end up breaking the record, it is still an incredible feat of marketing that I haven’t seen in a long time. Breaking2 is powerful because the real story isn’t about science or innovation of the products, but how these things have helped to unlock the essential human greatness that is within us all. Kudos to Nike, W+K and Dirty Robber for taking a risk to captivate us all with a story about human potential.
Kay Hsu will be judging this year's The Immortal Awards. Entries are now open to all Little Black Book members, so head over to the submissions page to submit your best work. If you aren't a member of Little Black Book yet, then you can subscribe here.
