It is well-known that Aubameyang is a massive fan of superheroes. So to celebrate the launch of his new weapon, the Hypervenom 3, we decided to give him his very own superhero identity: The Masked Finisher.

Across social, we teased his new identity. Sparking discussion with a glitchy, mobile-shot film as he tried the boot for the first time. Subtle suggestion of a finishing ability that went from natural to supernatural. Building intrigue, as mask sketches were hurriedly hidden away.

Then live on national TV, during the Dortmund-Schalke derby, goalscoring changed forever. As he celebrated bagging the equaliser, Aubameyang pulled a mask over his face – made from the same material as his boots – revealing himself to the world as The Masked Finisher. As he broke the back of the net, the idea broke the internet. A product triumphantly launched in-game; football never the same again.

6th February (6.2): The mask went into production, made at the same factory with the same material as the boot.

6th March (6.3): First film dropped across Nike Football’s Snapchat and YouTube, and Aubameyang’s Instagram. Aubameyang tries the HV3 on for the first time, discovering a new-found supernatural finishing ability. Look closely and you’ll spot the mask design in his bag.

Later on Nike Football’s Instagram we posted a still from the film, accompanied by the copy: ‘Did he actually...? ??? @aubameyang97 #Hypervenom’.

1st April (1.4): The Veltins-Arena. Dortmund v. Schalke. LIVE on TV. Aubameyang scored in his new Hypervenom 3 and wore the mask that we designed in celebration.

Immediately, on Nike Football’s Instagram, we confirmed his identity with a short film. The accompanying copy read: ‘The Masked Finisher. Superhuman striking instinct and next-level finishing ability. Latest sighting confirmed in Schalke in the new #Hypervenom 3’.

Impact was monumental and instant. We generated a global cumulative reach of 750m, all achieved with zero media spend; an incredible feat in today’s ‘pay-to-win’ world of social and media. Dozens of international news outlets picked up the story, including BBC, Sky Sports, MailOnline, ESPN, Eurosport, Fox, L’Equipe and Bleacher Report. Posts across Auba’s and Nike’s channels about the concept totaled a staggering 1.8m video views, 1.3m likes/reactions, 7k comments and 5.3k shares/retweets.

Click-throughs to Hypervenom campaign pages in Germany and WE were up 400% and 200% respectively week-on-week, with search traffic from unbranded and branded terms up over 1200%. Our biggest German retail partner, Intersport, reported an 8% average weekly sell-through of the HV3 – the best result they’ve experienced with Nike. Awareness in German FOT consumer groups of the stunt in the weeks after was also recorded at 100%.