The solution to telling the story of this invisible technology was to make the fun, giddy bounce that React delivers and the feeling of running in them actually visible. The idea was that inside all of us is a secret runner, an alternate version of ourselves that most of us haven’t been in touch with since we were kids. The Nike Reacts, with their addictive bounciness, granted you access to that inner runner and gave you the immediate desire to take off running. The creative idea was to give that sensation—and the runner inside all of us—a visual representation, allowing everyday non-runners a chance to actually create their running avatar as they experienced the shoes in real time and in a public place.

To get across the childlike joy that running used to have for all of us, we created a real-life video game that gave everyday, elite, and even non-runners a chance to experience the shoe in an attention-getting and spreadable way. Players designed avatars, had their skeletal points motion-tracked, and then used custom-built giant treadmills to run their characters through a 400-meter virtual race that reacted to their every move. Advanced 3D rendering techniques turned players’ motions into animation via 12 powerful gaming rigs that processed, packaged, and instantly transmitted gigs of real-time data to giant digital billboards in downtown L.A. Nike athletes like Ashton Eaton joined celebs as well as passersby to try to make it onto the leaderboard, with ESPN’s SportsCenter and Jimmy Kimmel showcasing the event on their shows. Fans could also play the game via the first-ever Snapchat AR lens.

Overall we achieved over 31.5MM impressions for Game of Go. Consumers on the ground at LA Live were fully immersed in the Game of Go experience via 12 existing screens throughout Microsoft Square, as well as a large custom digital screen brought into the space, driving over 525K impressions. The game activity was also simulcast on the LA Circa Board, the largest digital screen on the West Coast, resulting in over 1MM impressions during the three-day activation and creating awareness for Game of Go and the new React technology.

We elevated Game of Go to the national stage through strategic media integrations with ESPN and ABC, which drove 4.4MM impressions. A virtual Game of Go Snapchat experience accessible through the platform’s first ever AR lens provided an additional 25.6MM impressions.