According to The Wall Street Journal, NBA star Steve Nash went native and produced his own Nike spot.
Mr. Nash, who plays for the Phoenix Suns, says he is happy with how Nike has marketed him but felt he could come up with an ad that reflected more of his personality. There was little financial risk to Nike, since the campaign would require no ad buy. He says he got the idea from the young fans who take pictures of him with cameras and phones during his informal workouts. “There’s such an appetite for the ordinary stuff I do every day,” he says.
Mr. Nash received little input on the shoot from Nike, which pays him about $1 million a year to promote its sneakers, although the company provided one of the two cameras and edited the piece.
A Nike spokesman said the company has no problems with Mr. Nash’s ad and welcomes other athletes to follow in his footsteps.
Nash didn’t act alone (and it’s a stretch to call his spot user generated content). He enlisted Lola Schnabel, the daughter of artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, to shoot the self-styled Web ad for the shoemaker. So, it’s star generated content, but it’s still indie and that’s cool.
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Seemed a bit of a slap in the face to Nike. As in “that commercial you made for me sucked so much, I’m going to spend my own money to hire a director and shoot a better one.”
Either that or Nash really did want to make something for his more die-hard fans (like the Tadpoles) who dig his whole skateboarder/soccer player/NBA MVP thing.
Count me as a person who digs his whole skateboarder/soccer player/NBA MVP thing.
Creativity isn’t just something that happens on a canvas or is captured by a lens.
I thought the spot was very nice and thought-provoking, but a little long-winded.
Steve Nash is an artistic genius on the court and supposedly a really amazing, warmhearted, intelligent guy.
reminds me that soccer footwork is so very similar to dance steps. Putting on my high heels.