"Hold the Ketchup": Nike Celebrates Chicago in Spirited Spot

Chicago is a city that's known for and proud of a lot of things. One of those is hot dogs - but in a particular style.

A proper Chicago dog comes topped will all manner of things from sweet pickle relish to finely chopped white onion and mustard. One thing you'll never find atop a Chicago dog though is ketchup.

It's this hot dog particularity that plays centre stage as a brilliant metaphor in this Chicago-focused Nike spot by Wieden+Kennedy Portland and Arts & Sciences director Mike Warzin. The spokesman for the rousing spot is the order-caller at a diner who, alongside calling out an order for a hot dog, shouts proudly about the qualities of the city and its sports. It celebrates athletes who are playing their sport in true Chicago style: in the words of the spot's protagonist, that means never sugar coated, with no nonsense, less talking and more action.

Following the launch of the anthem, three local athlete stories launched on social and take a deeper dive into how kids in Chicago are using their respective sports to change the narrative of the city. The three athletes are McKinley Nelson, the founder of Project sWISH; Ixhelt Gonzalez, a member of the US women’s national wheelchair basketball team; and Monyett Crump, founder of REVEAL Dance.

Finally, the campaign wraps with an authentic Chicago-style pop-up diner that pays homage to some of the city's most iconic sports icons and moments, which launched this past weekend.