Moving

Earlier this week I pointed out a mural that stands in the lobby of Wieden & Kennedy in Portland. I may take issue with the sentiment of the piece but there is no denying this agency does some of the smartest, coolest advertising on the planet. They are so pitch-perfect in everything they do I have a hard time spotting any missteps.

The same cannot be said for other agencies.

This spot ran more than 10 years ago and yet they could run it tomorrow and it would still move me.



What I like most about it is its simplicity. With the exception of 1/2 second on Vince Carter and another 3/4 of a second on Apollo Ohno, the spot features no celebrities or superstar athletes. Here's how the script could have looked:

Open on kid running.


Cut to montage of people playing frisbee, golf, hockey, little league baseball, etc.


SUPER: Just do it.


LOGO: Nike Swish


And that's it. It takes real craftspeople to bring such a minimalist idea to life. But even more so, it takes a visionary client to see how something so simple on paper could be so magnificent on film. Chief Marketing Officers like that are rare.

Someday, I hope to run into one.