Nike Introduces Play New, Because Sport Is Not Just About Competition

With “Play New” Nike will invite people to discover sports in new ways because sport is not just about competition.

The campaign will drop multiple chapters of inspiring content and experiences coming throughout the rest of the year.

Nike believes that sport can inspire, create community and provide a platform for positive change. And sport does not have to be only about winning and competition, it can be about the joy of movement and the creativity of play. It’s time to Play New.

The campaign launches with an anthem film “Play New.” The 60-second video features elite athletes Sabrina Ionescu, Dina Asher-Smith, and Blake Leeper, and the award-winning singer and dancer Rosalía. Together, they join everyday athletes in having fun trying new sports.

In addition to the hero film, Nike will share a series of Play New stories featuring athletes and other protagonists on Nike’s digital ecosystem and social channels. These stories will highlight how sport has changed these athletes, and then how they have changed the world around them. Dina Asher-Smith will share the impact sport had on her as a young runner, as a female athlete, and now as a role model for girls and young women. Sabrina Ionescu will talk about how her childhood game gave her the grit she has today, and why she’s determined to inspire the next generation of basketball players.

“Play means joy. It represents pure enjoyment and being able to just be free. All kids play. That’s just a natural thing they do. The reason we are encouraging people to ‘Play New,’ is to celebrate that notion of getting back to the joy of discovering and trying something for the first time — the joy of letting loose a little bit.” – Melanie Auguste, VP, Global Brand Marketing

Nike will also seek to engage people to join in sport through its social channels as well, creating new ways of accessing sport through Snapchat and TikTok.

On Snapchat, Nike will introduce new Play New-themed full-body augmented reality Lenses to encourage people to enter a virtual world and try something new, like surfing, boxing, dancing, or yoga. The AR Lenses will contain persistent storage – a new feature from Snapchat – so users can return to the Lens to see their scores and progress.

On TikTok, Nike will create a series of episodic journeys that follow TikTok creators as they try something new, sharing their funny and imperfect experiences with audiences. This will join Nike’s existing “Break It Down” content series featuring creators teaching their signature moves, to encourage youth to have fun and get moving.

I don’t know about you, but I think it is about time I tried something new too.

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