New York Times (April 10, 2001) p.C8
Advertising | Stuart Elliott
Nike makes a commercial that resembles a music video, and hopes it is viewed
as such
A popular television commercial by Wieden & Kennedy in Portland, Ore., for
the line of basketball shoes sold by Nike Inc. is being turned into a spot
that resembles a music video in a step that is likely to further blur the
already wavy -- and wavering -- line between sponsored and nonsponsored
content.
The new, longer version of the commercial is scheduled to begin appearing
tomorrow afternoon on MTV, the premier outlet on cable television for music
videos. It is to be introduced by Savion Glover, the dancer who
choreographed both versions of the commercial, as part of his guest
appearance on an MTV program, "V.J. for a Day."
The groundbreaking nature of the move by Nike was underscored by confusion
late yesterday between the company and MTV as to whether the longer
commercial would include the credits that always appear in the lower left
corner of the screen when MTV shows a music video.
Those credits, which include the name of the song and the director of the
music video, will not appear, said Graham James, a spokesman for MTV in New
York, "to make it clear this is not being treated as programming."
Scott Reames, a spokesman for Nike, said that advertising executives there
"were surprised by this" because they thought that the longer version of the
commercials, scheduled to run five additional times on MTV through April 27,
would include those credits to indicate that it was shot as a music video
without overt selling of Nike shoes or apparel.
Later, Mr. Reames said: "It's MTV's prerogative to view this as an ad, and
we're fine with that. We view the creative aspect as more in keeping with a
video, but it's most important that it's seen and enjoyed by the audience for
MTV and the audience for Nike, which are very similar."
The new version of the commercial, which Mr. Reames said generated among the
most positive responses of any spot in the company's history, comes two
months after the premiere of the original, called Freestyle, which ran as
part of Nike's sponsorship of the National Basketball Association All-Star
Game.
The widespread acclaim for the commercial, which sets scenes of footloose
basketball players shot by Paul Hunter -- a director who also films music
videos for recording artists like D'Angelo, Lenny Kravitz and Jennifer Lopez
-- to a musical soundtrack, led Nike and Wieden & Kennedy to consider
producing a long version that would run on TV channels that play music
videos.
Last month, the New York office of Widen & Kennedy and the division of Nike
that sells footwear and clothing under the Jordan brand name collaborated on
a music video based on another popular commercial, called Much Respect, that
came out in January and also had a catchy music-centered soundtrack. In that
instance, the music video was to run not as a commercial but as part of
programming on the Web site of the basketball league (www.nba.com) as well as
on two cable networks: MTV2, a sibling of MTV, and BET. MTV, MTV2 and BET
are all owned by Viacom Inc.
The transformation -- or is it transmutation? -- of those Nike commercials is
emblematic of the increasing efforts by advertisers and agencies to embed
marketing messages in editorial content. The goal is to avoid the reactions
generated by clearly identifiable pitches, which range from indifference to
outrage, and sidestep the channel-changing and page-turning that often occurs
when consumers realize they are being peddled by products.
Recent examples of efforts to blur the difference between paid and unpaid
content include the placement of products and services of sponsors like
Cingular Wireless, Reebok International and Target in episodes of the first
two "Survivor" series on CBS; the centering of a plot line of an episode of
the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace" on a doll of the singer Cher being sold by
Mattel; and discussions among the hosts of the ABC talk show "The View," paid
for by the Campbell Soup Company, that touched on Campbell products but did
not acknowledge the sponsored aspects of the remarks.
The Nike basketball commercial that resembles a music video runs 2 minutes
and 30 seconds and uses the same soundtrack: music by Steve Brown and Afrika
Bombatta, known for the "Planet Rock" funk-music tune of the 1980's,
augmented by sound effects produced by the players mixed in by Jeff Elmassian
of Digihearit, a musical editing company. The original Freestyle commercial
ran for 60 seconds and was subsequently shown in two shorter 30-second
versions.
The longer commercial, like the shorter predecessors, features professional
and amateur basketball players showing off their moves to a musical
soundtrack derived from the sounds of the game, from the squeak of sneakers
to the percussive beat of the ball hitting the floor.
The commercial that resembles a music video includes some parts from the
original commercial, shot in January in Los Angeles and Toronto, along with
additional scenes shot two weeks ago in New York. The cast members are the
same in both: so-called streetball players, talented amateur basketball
stars, who perform along with professional N.B.A. players. The pros are
Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors, Darius Miles and Lamar Odom of the Los
Angeles Clippers, Jason Williams of the Sacramento Kings and Rasheed Wallace
of the Portland Trail Blazers.
"It's a cool concept," said Mr. James of MTV, "with talent relevant to our
audience."
The longer commercial in the style of a music video also included women,
which the original did not, along with more streetball players. The original
commercial was not overtly product-focused, but ended with a Nike "swoosh"
logo in the lower right corner of the screen. The longer version of the
commercial has only one moment that can be deemed overtly commercial, when a
player thrusts into the camera a basketball bearing the swoosh logo.
"It doesn't have any shoe shots," said Hal Curtis, a creative director and
art director at Wieden & Kennedy, who produced both versions with his agency
partner, Jimmy Smith, a creative director and copywriter. "It's more about
celebrating the game."
"We were interested in something that would turn kids on to basketball so
they'd pick up the ball and play," Mr. Curtis said. "We wanted to
communicate that basketball is a game about freedom and self-expression and
individuality.
"It seems to rise above selling a sneaker," he added, "though obviously
that's what we want to have happen."
MTV routinely edits the more clearly commercial elements of the music videos
it plays, blurring logos or brand names of products. That is fascinating
because music videos are in and of themselves commercials for the songs they
feature.
In MTV programs like "The Real World," logos and brand names are usually
blurred -- unless they are of products that pay fees to be placed on camera.
(
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