The Nike + Reebok debate

in

Run like you've never run before.

or

Run at the speed of chat.

It's usually not made so easy to recognize the juxta-positioning (so to speak), but these spots for Nike and Reebok give us a pretty good indication of how slight differences still hold big meaning. Even if it is on a television spot.

The final ad by Wieden and Kennedy for Nike Running is striking and unique. It's wonderfully shot, smart, and perfectly told. The Edward Norton voice-over gives it that nice Fight Club flavor, with easy connections between the eccentricities of the movie and the obsessiveness of the runner in the spot. This guy fuckin' loves to run, but he's also got about a 50/50 shot at being a serial killer, too. So there's that.

But, side by side with the Reebok ad, it becomes a little clearer why WK no longer holds the Nike reigns. The basics are still the same, a runner and a street, but the Reebok spot (by mcgarrybowen) actually gives the runner a friend and a personality. It even pokes a little fun at the super-aggressive type in the nike ads.

The obsessive runners and thoughtless meatheads are out there, surely, but I think the normal ones among us think, "what a douchebag," when we cross paths with them at the gym. Reebok made running normal and likable again.

I'll be curious to see how CP+B changes the scope for Nike. We can only hope it has nothing to do with a subservient shoe.

________________________

 

I am annoyed with Reebok's site straight ripping off the Nike site, but that's a subject for another post.

(here's ernie shenck's take on the nike spot)