To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Force, Nike would take fans back to the beginning, honor 25 years of basketball culture and reintroduce Force to the game with the Air Force 25. To keep up with a fast-moving audience, a consumer-centric approach would be required for each channel – web video, full mobile experience, radio/podcast, iPod, PSP, TV – as would unique content distributed by a digital magazine, web film studio, weekly radio show and more. Content would have to be updated frequently with what the audience wanted the most in order to catch on at a grassroots level.

Buzz began in Fall 2006. Stories/photos in the magazine were shared by fans and blogs around the world. The December Phase 1 web/mobile launch featured an interactive timeline/documentary narrated by hip-hop legend Rakim. In January, Phase 2 gave the TV spot digital relevance by making it downloadable and watchable on every screen. An interactive pick-up game and player interviews from the shoot became popular online exclusives. Behind-the-scenes footage made its way into an MTV video and countless fan-created videos. In February, Phase 3 brought in-depth coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend, basketball’s biggest event, to a record mobile/magazine/podcast audience.