Creative direction + Copy

This campaign is considered one of Nike’s most successful digital campaigns of all time. It was awarded Best in Show at the 2017 David Ogilvy Awards.

Even the world’s most elite athletes were once, at some point in their lives, second best. In order to be the best, they had to beat the best. For Nike’s annual Gear Up Day, we gave that rival a name: TJ. Known universally as “That kid who always wins,” we created a large-scale digital campaign aimed at getting teenagers to focus their summer vacations on self-improvement, practice, and perfection. Their one goal? To take on TJ.

”Take on TJ” included an in-house manifesto video that reached four million views in 24 hours, an integration with the interactive chat bot KIK, sponsored content with Buzzfeed and Whistle Sports Media, a gallery of shareable memes for social media posts, Nike athlete participation, and a Times Square Billboard. Without a doubt, it was the most writing I’ve ever had to produce on a campaign.

Social Media

Nike got some of their top athletes to participate in the campaign, sharing true stories of their own personal TJ-esque rivals from their personal Instagram or Twitter accounts

As a lifelong Golden State Warriors fan, I got a special thrill to see Draymond Green participate in the campaign.

Shareable Memes

Given the role social media plays in the average high schooler’s life, we created a gallery of shareable memes that directly addressed online behaviors. Written in a tone appropriate for social conversations, these featured Nike athletes speaking in their signature aspirational tone, but with a more lighthearted twist. These were housed on a Tumblr site that also featured art and animated gifs supporting the campaign. Teenagers around the country posted these memes in Facebook threads to motivate their teammates.

Kik Chatbot

We had to map out and write a series of responses in the campaign voice for the chatbot Kik. According to the vendor, this campaign set the bar for organic acquisition. In other words, a ton of people found the bot on their own AND decided to interact with/berate it upon launch.

Times Square Billboard

I don’t care how long you’ve been in this business, it’s always a big deal to see your work up in lights - especially on Broadway.