Nike

So that the tournament was not there, so we created the tournament, and then we did all the campaign around it. So, the whole idea was not only a campaign, but the tournament itself. And, what was the question again about that? [1722]
Yeah. There were some different five a side futbol projects, but this one in particular was really successful in Italy, because it was, at the end, it was completely different from anything that's been done before, for that. And actually the tournament that I'm talking about, it's not even, it's not that we had to promote a tournament, we had to promote five a side football and Nike as a believable brand in five a side futbol. So, part of the idea was to create this tournament. So that the tournament was not there, so we created the tournament, and then we did all the campaign around it. So, the whole idea was not only a campaign, but the tournament itself. And, what was the question again about that? [1688],[1689]
Because if everything is a, there are like tons of people who have to agree on things, and then there is no time, and then there's, so the process usually what kills or, you know, makes a project not as good as it could be. [1691],[1690]
And in this case, the process was perfect. We started, we had eight months to work on it. I was based in Amsterdam. The project was for Rome. And the whole team of like two creatives, one planner, one account person, one producer, and the client, we were all based in Amsterdam, and we all flew to Rome for five days. That's at the very beginning of the project. There was nothing to brief. Just to interview people, to see, to go to see some five a side football clubs. To talk to kids. Talk to some DJs and radios. [1692],[1694],[1693]
That's at the very beginning of the project. There was nothing to brief. Just to interview people, to see, to go to see some five a side football clubs. To talk to kids. Talk to some DJs and radios. [1723]
And the idea that got produced after eight months was generated at a dinner table, by accident. The client was there. All these agency people were there. And we were just talking, what if, what if, what if. It was not meant to be a working session. We were just talking and chatting, and at some point somebody said, "Oh, it would be cool if we did this." And that's the idea that got produced. [1724],[1725],[1695],[1726]
And it's not a coincidence. I think that's, you know, when you're in the right environment, you work from Rome, so you go to Rome, instead of it's like here, if I work for a campaign for Seattle, it's much better if I at least go to Seattle. And we don't often have that chance, that luck to do that. But, when we do, I think can always see it in the final product. So, the whole process was perfect. We had time, we had a great client, that was also like a friend. So, the relationship was really informal. And was a lot of back and forth between the agents and the clients. [1698],[1697],[1696],[1699]
It was not like the agency against the client. It was really working together, but in a good way. And ... yeah, so everything went really great. [1700],[1727],[1701],[1728]
Yeah, that's what made the situation ideal, because usually the more people, the more messy it gets. [1702]
Nike is a very unique and special client. They do want to take risk. If something is not risky enough, they won't even, at least at the time. Now, it's becoming much more corporate, but at the time, it was not that corporate. And I think that they were really looking to take risks, and willing to. [1703],[1705],[1704]
That was very vague. That was really, really broad, and it was not something that inspired us very much. It was ... [1729]
That was very vague. That was really, really broad, and it was not something that inspired us very much. It was ... actually, the most inspiring part of the brief was the description of the situation in Rome, and the target audience in Rome. That was the most inspiring thing, and that's where the idea came from. The main message that was in the brief was just how to, I don't know, celebrate the passion of kids for, of Roman kids for five a side futbol. Super generic. [1706]
Budget was a huge issue. [1707],[1708]
And we ... because we did, well it was an issue, but because we didn't have any media plan. I mean, we're not, they didn't, nobody told us, okay you have to do, you have to come up with a TV spot. You have to come up with a print page. It was really, really open. Come up with whatever you want that works. So, we created the tournament. We created a TV spot that was more than a spot. It was like a five minute animation that ran on MTV. So, it was more like content, more than just a 30 second spot. [1711],[1710],[1709],[1730],[1731]
But, because we wanted to do a lot of things, then it was hard to estimate a budget for that. Then once we had a budget, then of course it was too expensive. But, then we found out it was too expensive, because the agency was used to only work with some companies in London. And of course companies in London, like production companies are super expensive. So, we found a really tiny animation, because it was an animation project, an animation company in Italy, in Florence. Who couldn't believe their eyes when they got a call from Amsterdam and from Nike. Never done something international before. So, they did an amazing job, for nothing basically. [1713],[1712]
So, that's how the project survived. [1714],[1715]
And you know, we're good friends. So, we really enjoyed the process. And we had exactly the same ideas on advertising, and cinema, and music, and so we had a lot in common. There was no friction or anything. [1716]
And you know, we're good friends. So, we really enjoyed the process. And we had exactly the same ideas on advertising, and cinema, and music, and so we had a lot in common. There was no friction or anything. PROJECT ID [1732]
Friends too. And that's something that, again, it's not a coincidence. I mean, I'm not saying that I, that being friends is some kind of tactic to get, it's not that I want to make friends because of the work. It's, I usually enjoy working with, I believe in the idea of working with clients, like people who work for the same goal. So, we should work together, and it's usually nice people. There's no reason why, I've been lucky, maybe, in all my life. [1717]
I usually enjoy working with, I believe in the idea of working with clients, like people who work for the same goal. So, we should work together, and it's usually nice people. [1733],[1734]
But, I usually try to make the process as informal as possible. And that's something really hard here in New York, for example, compared to Europe. Is that the relationship with the client is always very formal [1718]
It's like this big table, and the agency on one side, the client on the other side. Then you see what you have. [1719]
And one client here, which is Smirnoff. One of the first things that me and Raphael tried to do to get to know the client and to, you know, we went out for a drink, just to know them on a personal level. And that they could know us at a personal level. And we really tried since the beginning to make the relationship as informal as possible. [1735],[1720]
And again, it's not something that we do because we want to do good work. It's not some kind of manipulation of the client. It's really honest, and genuine. But, it's just, it makes things easier. There's a connection. Some kind of trust. And trust is fundamental. [1721]
Some kind of trust. And trust is fundamental. [1736]
Reference Tags
[1722] Creative Confidence,[1688] Appeal to novelty,[1689] Ikea effect,[1691] Indecisive leadership,[1690] Planning fallacy,[1692] Decisive leadership,[1694] Organizing effectively,[1693] Promote autonomy & sense of ownership,[1723] Empathetic disposition,[1724] Collaborative-Creative Disposition,[1725] Communicating ideas across domains,[1695] Communicating ideas across domains,[1726] Win-win conflict about ideas,[1698] Appropriate resources,[1697] Communicating ideas across domains,[1696] Organizing effectively,[1699] Trust,[1700] Communicating ideas across domains,[1727] Trust,[1701] Trust,[1728] Win-win conflict about ideas,[1702] Decisive leadership,[1703] Pro-innovation bias,[1705] Risk compensation,[1704] Trust,[1729] Vague goals,[1706] Vague goals,[1707] Believes one has a hopeful path,[1708] Lack of resources,[1711] Believes one has a hopeful path,[1710] Communication issues,[1709] Lack of resources,[1730] Organizational encouragement,[1731] Promote autonomy & sense of ownership,[1713] Believes one has a hopeful path,[1712] Lack of resources,[1714] Believes one has a hopeful path,[1715] Lack of resources,[1716] Trust,[1732] Trust,[1717] Trust,[1733] Collaborative-Creative Disposition,[1734] Win-win conflict about ideas,[1718] Organizing effectively,[1719] Organizing effectively,[1735] Trust,[1720] Trust,[1721] Trust,[1736] Trust