Cannes Lions

The Switch

WIEDEN+KENNEDY, Portland / NIKE / 2017

Film
Supporting Content

Overview

Entries

Credits

Overview

Description

This is the story of the world’s best footballer meeting an anonymous English ball boy—via a freak, nasty collision. One moment changes everything. Because Ronaldo and Charlie Lee discover they’ve switched bodies. Ronaldo has to start all over, while the aspiring teen finds he now has some of the best abs on the planet—and has to live up to everything that is Ronaldo. They learn neither one has it easy. Every bit of brilliance has to be earned.

Execution

On June 9, the eve of Euro 2016, “The Switch” was launched to own the first five tournament days globally. The scale of broadcast was 57 in-game “movie trailers” during key matches throughout the tournament, as well as Internet movie posters on key football sites and professional footballers talking about the film on social media. The film was promoted digitally throughout Copa and the Olympics. In Brazil, football fans were exposed to the film through Xbox integration. And the project became the first-ever use of long-form video on Snapchat in emerging markets. Football players and fans were driven to watch the entire film on the Internet (including YouTube, Facebook, nikefootball.com, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s personal pages). The work then strategically drove viewers to nikefootball.com as well as encouraged footballing teens to download the Nike Football app.

Outcome

The film drew over 115 million views across all digital platforms, winning viewers in 12 key markets and across the globe. It was the most shared viral film during the 2016 Euro tournament. It became the fourth most watched YouTube video of 2016 around the world. But the success went far beyond views. The campaign prompted more than 15 million Nike Football app downloads. And traffic to nikefootball.com rose 42% for the year. Esporte Interativo, a Brazilian sports network, enjoyed it so much, they ran the entire six-minute film for free. Also, Portugal won the Euros. Coincidence?

Similar Campaigns

12 items

Shortlisted Cannes Lions
Hand meets Hand

HAKUHODO INC., Tokyo

Hand meets Hand

2017, TIFFANY & CO.

(opens in a new tab)