When it comes to apparel marketing, the battle for consumer attention is relentless and the quest for memorable campaigns is ceaseless. It’s not often that a brand manages to cut through the noise and leave an indelible mark on the industry. But when they do, it’s glorious.
Here, we explore how 5 brands succeeded in turning their products into symbols of personal achievement and identity — and what we can learn from them.
The year was 2012, and the world was brimming with anticipation for the upcoming London Olympics. Sports brands were fighting tooth and nail to win the ultimate prize — becoming the official sponsor of the games. Nike was one of them. But in the end, they didn’t get the job.
Turns out, that loss spurred what would become one of the most memorable and lauded marketing campaigns the world has ever seen.
During a time when everyone’s attention was fixed on following the greatest athletes competing for glory, Nike’s rallying cry was simple yet powerful. “Find your greatness” put forth the idea that greatness is not reserved for professional athletes or Olympic medalists alone: it’s accessible to anyone, anywhere.
Nike worked with Wieden+Kennedy Portland to hit the ground running. On July 31st, 2012, “Find Your Greatness” was introduced to the world at large — and it all started with a 60-second video of an ordinary boy from London, Ohio.
The "Jogger" followed 12-year-old Nathan as he strived to achieve his personal best. While Nathan ran, sweat dripping and eyes focused, the voiceover made Nike’s message ring loud and clear: “Greatness is not some rare DNA strand. It’s not some precious thing. Greatness is not more unique to us than breathing. We’re all capable of it. All of us.”
After Nathan, videos featuring other ordinary people followed — none in London (as per the Olympic committee’s rules), but still, somehow, all in London. From a female boxer hitting the pads in Little London, Jamaica, to a female team playing soccer at London School, Qatar, and a group of little boys competing in a rugby match in East London, South Africa, Nike found greatness in “everyday people and places around the world.”
Mixing traditional and digital channels (broadcast TV, YouTube, social media, outdoor and print media), Nike’s approach ensured that the campaign’s core message permeated every possible consumer touchpoint.
With the hashtag #findgreatness, Nike encouraged everyday people to “get moving, set goals, and log runs on their journey to greatness” using the Nike+ app. This user-generated content strategy was another stroke of genius. It fostered a sense of community among participants, showcasing real, relatable stories of personal achievement and perseverance that drove home the entire point of the campaign.
In 2012, despite what everyone thought, greatness wasn’t limited to the London podiums. That moment in time wasn’t about hero-worshipping. It was about hero-making.
Nike wanted to become the most talked about brand during the games. It was a tall order, and yet, it exceeded every expectation. During the 2012 Olympics, “Find Your Greatness” was the most viewed campaign online, the most mentioned on Twitter, and the most talked about on social media at large.
Nike’s push for people to find their greatness and share it through the Nike+ app also resulted in a 55% community growth, with over three million new members joining in just nine weeks.
Embrace universal inclusivity in your messaging. Nike’s “Find Your Greatness” campaign is a masterclass on how highlighting the ordinary can make a brand stand out in extraordinary ways.
Rewards come to those who run. That was the pillar message of New Balance’s “Runlock” campaign, an initiative designed to highlight the multifaceted benefits of running and celebrate the brand’s heritage — one deeply ingrained within the running community.
The cold winter months are when even the most avid runners tend to slack off. In an effort to both motivate and activate, New Balance partnered with Mediahub UK to make running irresistible during the least appealing of times.
"We sort of evolved the Runlock idea through a few different guises, but ultimately settled on this idea that rewards come to those who run," explains Sandeep Ahluwalia, Creative Innovation Partner at Mediahub UK. The campaign combined motivation and incentives, aiming to not only inspire individuals to embrace running during the colder months but also to reward their participation with tangible benefits.
At the core of the campaign was Strava. New Balance challenged the platform’s active community to run 30 km in 30 days for the chance to win New Balance apparel, footwear, and a place at the New York Marathon (including accommodation and transport.) “We always wanted an activational mechanic to the campaign,” says Sandeep. “I think there was always something quite nice about the physical act of actually getting people running. So Strava was always a contender quite early in that conversation.”
The very concept of unlocking rewards likely wouldn’t have come to fruition without Strava. “There's a synergistic kind of thing that happened as we were developing the idea and thinking about how this campaign all comes together. Strava was a core part of that, which then informed the rest of the work that we did,” Sandeep adds.
That work involved a social-first approach, as Mediahub created a plethora of video content for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, partnered up with influencers, and pushed content through running and lifestyle publishers. Sandeep looks at Runlock as a very well-integrated campaign “because it has this very central idea that runs all the way throughout and through every touchpoint, whether it's Strava, whether it's the audiovisual content, whether it's the partnership work or whether it's the influencer work. It's all very unified in its approach around this idea of rewards.”
The Strava platform itself was also a promotional vehicle. Sandeep explains that “Strava is designed for these types of activations. We were able to advertise within the app environment, and we tapped into Strava's email database to send out an email newsletter.” Mediahub also took advantage of the challenge’s prominent placement within the app and the in-app notifications, all things that are at brands’ disposal “to make sure that we can get our message to our audience.”
One of the reasons why MediaHub chose Strava was for its ability to measure results. “As a platform, Strava is obviously very attractive to brands because it provides that data on engagement.” This data showed New Balance that challenge participation across target markets (France, the UK, and Germany) was at an all-time high — the brand got over 250,000 people running through the cold, the fog, and the rain.
Runlock won accolades such as Adweek's Best International Campaign and a commendation at The Drum's awards for Best Integrated Campaign. For Sandeep, the participation numbers and awards are “great recognition that this is a winning formula for this type of campaign work that measurably drives brand performance. It’s a great way for the brand itself to engage quite an active community on Strava.”
Don’t just talk at your audience — involve them. “Runlock” was bigger than a traditional marketing campaign. It created an immersive experience that invited runners to engage, participate, be rewarded, and, ultimately, reinforce their positive associations with the brand.
As illustrated by the Strava partnership, integrating your campaign with platforms already popular among your target audience can unlock unprecedented levels of engagement.
Let’s turn back the clock all the way to 2004. Adidas was facing stiff competition from other big players in the industry, and the time had come for reinvigoration. A new direction, a narrative throughline that would redefine the brand and encapsulate its essence — perhaps for years to come. With the 2004 Olympics right around the corner, the iron was hot. And Adidas struck.
The "Impossible is Nothing" campaign was grounded in the idea that with the right mindset, no obstacle is insurmountable. Twenty years later, the original motto isn’t just alive. It’s an essential element of the Adidas brand as we know it.
Adidas partnered with creative agencies 180 Amsterdam and TBWA\Chiat\Day to bring this global campaign to life. It all began with the iconic tagline, Boyd Coyner’s brainchild (contrary to popular belief, it was not, in fact, uttered by Muhammad Ali.)
“‘Impossible is Nothing’ came to bear and it became easier for both the creative and company to go somewhere when we all knew where we were going,” explained Chuck McBride, who at the time was TBWA\Chiat\Day’s Executive Creative Director of North America. “With "Impossible is Nothing" you can now measure your work up against something. The job is not only to say that consistently, but also to breathe life into it, to say it in different ways as many times as you can so that it's not a one-tone culture, but a multi-faceted culture of sport and athletic endeavor, humanity, all the stuff that makes a brand rich.”
From there, copywriter Aimee Lehto penned the memorable manifesto, and the agencies set out to build a multifaceted marketing strategy. One that sought to engage the target demographic of 12- to 24-year-olds deeply involved in sports.
The campaign featured a series of television, print, and online ads, each telling the inspiring stories of both past and present athletes (including David Beckham and Haile Gebrselassie) who embodied the "Impossible is Nothing" ethos. It was marked by its innovative use of digital technology to blend new footage with archival material, creating a sense of continuity and connection between the athletic icons of the past and present.
One notable spot featured a digitally recreated young Muhammad Ali running alongside current stars, symbolizing the timeless nature of the struggle towards prominence. Another poignant ad showed Ali sparring with his daughter Laila.
"Impossible is Nothing" was en emotional hit (in the best possible sense) with audiences worldwide, thanks to its authentic storytelling and appeal to the universal desire of overcoming adversity. As Camille Imbert, Creative Director at Kettle, beautifully put it, the campaign “makes you dream. Impossible does exist, but you can overcome it. The powerful difference between "Nothing is Impossible" and "Impossible is Nothing" is that the obstacle disappears and the challenge no longer exists.”
The campaign was a resounding success. It received widespread acclaim within the marketing industry, earning a Silver EFFIE Award and a Gold Lion Award at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes.
More importantly, it revitalized Adidas' brand image, re-establishing the company as a source of inspiration and resilience, and birthing the iconic tagline that is synonymous with the brand to this very day. Reflecting on the campaign and the three words that started it all, Lee Clow, Chairman of TBWA\Worldwide, said that “one of the really special things that sometimes we do in this business, is that we don't just create an ad campaign. We create a place for the brand to live and a rallying cry for the company.”
"Impossible is Nothing" is a testament to the power of branding through storytelling. It was by connecting with people on an emotional level that Adidas reinforced its legacy as a brand that champions the potential within each individual to achieve whatever they set out to.
When we think about fitness and sports, we tend to zero in on the physicality of it all. Rarely (if at all) do we think about how it impacts the other aspects of our lives that make us human.
Reebok's "Be More Human" campaign, initiated in 2015, challenged this status quo. It put out a clarion call for people to explore the full spectrum of the human experience through fitness, encouraging them to push beyond their limits and uncover their true potential.
At its heart, the campaign championed the idea that fitness transcends physical transformation. It’s a vehicle for individuals to become better in all aspects of their lives — better parents, partners, leaders, and humans. Chris Froio, VP of Reebok Western Europe explained how “the ‘Be More Human’ campaign is our biggest campaign in the last decade. It’s the ultimate expression of what we believe is the epitome of fitness. It really does tie together all of the key three key aspects of fitness that we believe are the most empowering.”
The campaign was propped up by an integrated marketing approach that leveraged digital platforms, social media, and content marketing to engage with its audience. The online hub created for "Be More Human" featured interactive tools like the Human Score quiz and Gray Matters visualizer, offering users personalized insights into how fitness activities can impact their brain and overall human traits.
To highlight real stories of transformation and resilience, Reebok rolled out the #BreakYourSelfie initiative. The hashtag encouraged people to further engage with the campaign by sharing post-workout selfies that captured their exhausted yet fulfilled state in all its glory.
“Be More Human”’s main brand film by Venables Bell + Partners, "Freak Show," aired on Super Bowl XLIX. It depicted the rigorous and often overlooked aspects of intense physical activities, celebrating the dedication and spirit of ordinary people who choose to lead extraordinary lives through fitness.
While digital initiatives were at the heart of the campaign, Reebok also leveraged out-of-home (OOH) advertising to amplify its message. The OOH components, including billboards and public installations, featured powerful imagery and messages that echoed “Be More Human”’s core themes.
Of the site’s over one million visitors, 175,000 took the "Human Score" test, while more than 5,000 photos were tagged #Breakyourselfie.
The campaign was also recognized for its innovative approach at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where it won two Silver Cannes Lions in the Cyber category for Integrated Multiplatform and the Craft and Design of the website.
Keep an ear to the ground for trends and changing consumer preferences. By looking at the rise of functional fitness and the cultural shift towards holistic wellness, Reebok was able to connect with a dedicated consumer base looking for brands that understood their values.
Lululemon has always positioned itself as a brand that sells a lifestyle, not workout gear. In many ways, their 2021 “FEEL” campaign was a culmination of this concept. It transcended traditional notions of athletic wear by focusing on the well-being that comes from wearing Lululemon apparel, rather than just the activities these clothes are typically associated with.
The "FEEL" campaign, conceptualized and executed with the collaboration of Droga5, was designed to resonate with a broader audience, including men, international markets, and the Gen Z demographic.
A key aspect of the campaign was its departure from highlighting what people do in Lululemon wear to how they feel while wearing it. This shift was a calculated step towards redefining the cultural conversation around well-being, marking Lululemon's fresh and timely viewpoint in a crowded activewear market. As noted by Nikki Neuburger, Lululemon’s Chief Brand Officer, “Feeling is everything—it sits at the intersection of your physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and it’s at the heart of all we do and create at Lululemon.”
"FEEL" included various digital assets, such as product films that celebrated the sensations evoked by specific Lululemon products. The goal was to visually convey the unique feelings associated with wearing Lululemon apparel, such as the "hugging sensation" of the Instill Tight and the "freedom of movement" provided by the ABC jogger series.
The campaign's digital footprint extended across online videos, organic social media, and influencer marketing, ensuring a wide reach and engagement with diverse consumer segments. OOH advertising and in-store visual merchandising were also significant components of the "FEEL" campaign — both of which created a tangible presence that complemented the digital and broadcast efforts.
With a goal to double revenue by 2026, and quadruple it in international markets, Lululemon also tailored the "FEEL" campaign to resonate globally. The brand rolled out collaborations with celebrity ambassadors in China in a bid to showcase its commitment to cultural relevance and local engagement.
The campaign's focus on well-being, especially in the context of the pandemic's challenges to mental health and social connectivity, positioned Lululemon as a brand that understands and responds to the complex dimensions of wellness.
Since 2021, Lululemon has experienced consistent revenue growth YoY — with a 30% net revenue increase in 2022 and a 16% increase in 2023.
Focus on the emotional experience of your consumers. Lululemon’s “FEEL” campaign emphasizes the significance of how products make consumers feel, rather than just their functionality.
Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Lululemon, and New Balance share more than an industry. As we peel back the layers of their campaigns, we find a similar commitment to storytelling that inspires, challenges, and connects. They remind us that at the heart of every successful brand story is a deep understanding of the audience's desires, dreams, and the universal quest for meaning.
Armed with the insights from these trailblazers, you can craft narratives that resonate, engage, and leave a lasting impact. So, what story will you tell? How will you inspire your audience to find their greatness, challenge their limits, and embrace their most authentic selves?
It's your move. Make it count.
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