“Precious” in Chinese is a word overprotective parents use as a term of endearment for their children. But as a brand that exists to realize the potential in athletes, Nike believes “Precious” is holding Chinese children back.

On June 1st - Children’s Day - an event usually reserved for soft toys and sentimental celebration, Nike set out to harness the power and athleticism in every Chinese child by giving them a rallying cry: “Don’t Call Me Precious”.

A legacy of China’s one child policy is generations of parents raising “bao bei” - “precious” children who are the centre of their universe. Decades of well-intentioned coddling has become restrictive: participation in physical activity, especially competitive sport, has plummeted fearful parents go to extreme lengths to keep children from harm - the disappointment of losing through to the risk of injury.

The primary objective for Nike was to raise awareness of the benefits of sports for children and to help drive attitudinal change towards the participation of children in sports, and in so doing help build up a more athletic youth culture in China.

One of the key goals of the campaign was to help parents overcome their deeply ingrained overprotective instincts by showing the resilience, strength and skill their “bao bei” can possess, and that sport is the key to unlocking it.

Don't Call Me Precious is a campaign developed to help Nike China change the ingrained perceptions of children as being too fragile for sport.

In the “Don’t Call Me Precious” film, the children focus on their beloved sport event, like basketball, running, football, boxing. They express their true thoughts through their words -- The boy who encounters a strong enemy in the basketball game says: “You (the parents) can’t help me in the game, unless I fight for myself.” The girl who stops running because she reaches out her limit says: “It’s okay, you are not the first one who look down upon me.” Eventually, they find their potential in the athletic field, and feel the challenge and fun in the sports. The potential of the athlete that those children have are always misjudged or limited because of the “precious” stereotype of them.

Our targeted kids are born in the age of China’s “One Child Policy”. Through in-depth interviews and social listening, we dig out a prevalent, unique yet unspoken tension point in China between parents and kids - Chinese parents tend to be overprotective and hold double standards on their only child doing sports. Nike believes that sports shouldn’t be limited by age - Children also have the grit, determination and fearlessness of adults. The potential in children and the love and focus that they have in sports can all prove that they are real athletes.

We picked Children's Day when everyone is celebrating kids being naive and sweet. Nike cut through the crowds and breaks the stereotype by showing kids talking tough, having their own opinions, and that they are much braver than what people expect.

This work includes a series of films, a meme generator, DOOH and events. It hero's four real-life junior sport stars and showcases their mental toughness, athleticism and outspoken demand to not be babied. Timed to coincide Children's Day on June 1st, it delivered a short, sharp shock with saccharine sentimentality.

Chinese kids and their parents have very different media behaviors and they live on different platforms. To reach both of them effectively, Nike used a combination of kid and parent channels with customized content and engagements.

5 films, a series of KVs, and an HTML5 meme activation were created to make the campaign integrated, engaging and socially impactful.

Nike used top social media platforms WeChat, Weibo, and Qzone to get both parents and children involved. Influencers shared their H5 posters on Weibo to amplify the impact. Two OTV sites Youku and IQIYI are targeting both kids and parents.

Total impression: 209M

Total views: 71M

Kids physically activated: 7500+

Breakdown:

Targeted OTV: Total Views: 71M

Outdoor Media

OOH impressions: 28.2M

Nike Weibo

Views of the video: 633k (post on 5.21)

Views of the video: 80k (post on 5.24)

Views of the video: 80k (post on 5.28)

Views of the video: 80k (post on 5.30)

Views of the video: 980k (post on 6.1)

(Source: Nike Weibo)

Nike Wechat post with video:

2 times/4 articles (pushed on 5.31/6.1)

Reach: 4,525,092

Readership: 238,308

Share: 2,564

(Source: Nike)

Qzone H5 performance:

Total impression: 134M

Total clicks: 4.9M

Total engagements: 1.8M