Nike on true blue track

The new campaign is based on the insight that at any point in time on any given day, the journeys of the current cricket world champions run parallel to the journeys of millions of cricket crazy youth across the country.

For a nation which is known to eat, drink and sleep cricket, Nike managed to hit the right chord in 2010, with the launch of its first 'Bleed Blue' campaign. The sports brand returns with the second instalment of the concept, stressing on the bond the game has created between today's youth and the sportspersons, with both chasing the same dream.

The campaign is based on the insight that at any point in time on any given day, the journeys of the current world champions (the Indian cricket team) of the game run parallel to the journeys of millions of cricket crazy youth across the country.

Conceptualised by JWT's Bengaluru office under the initiative 'Bleed Blue', the television commercial (TVC) captures the everyday journey of cricket fans and that of the Indian cricket team. The stories run parallel to each other, beginning with the rising sun. Both the players and the youth wake, run, live, breathe, train at the gyms and the akhadas, test endurance at the nets, hit the deck harder, run faster and chase the same goals every day. The film ends with the intensity of the journey before the moment, before the big game begins.

The TVC was shot through the entire month of August, with many parallel camera crews capturing hundreds of parallel journeys of real cricket playing youth and all the team India athletes from the moment they wake up through every moment of their daily rituals of training, until the ultimate moment before the game across various playgrounds. The film crew travelled across Kashmir, Ladakh, Jodhpur, Delhi, Indore, Bhopal, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pondicherry and several other locations.

Interestingly, for the TVC, the original Nike vocal percussion sound track was created using different voices such as war cries, chants, grunts, beats, heartbeats, deep notes, crazy cheers, jeers, echoes and encores.

Avinash Pant, marketing director, Nike India, says, "Nike's 'Parallel journeys' captures the journey to perfection in the sport, clearly demonstrating the passion and hunger of a new breed that will stop at nothing. In the true spirit of 'Just do it', a new generation of millions of young athletes can believe that one day they will be the voice of an entire nation."

Senthil Kumar, writer and national creative director, JWT India, explains, "The journey of seeing this film through from idea to script to the epic production across hundreds of authentic locations in every corner of India, has been the most challenging one yet, but the pursuit of greatness kept the energy levels at an all-time high. This film is an authentic commentary on the parallel journeys of India's bloodline, which is not just 15 players on the bench but a billion strong."

"The execution celebrates the common thread between these parallel journeys, capturing the pursuit of greatness in the many parallel worlds of India's cricket crazy bloodline. And when the parallel lines blur across the country, like they do on a daily basis, we realise that everyone in the bloodline is pursuing the same dream. Bleeding blue, every moment of the journey," adds Kumar.

According to Kumar, while the T20 World Cup might be over for the Indian team, cricket goes on.

Interestingly, the 'Bleed Blue' page on Facebook has garnered 46,227 Likes so far, and has generated conversation amongst 2,779 people.

Driving passion

Rajeev Raja, creative consultant, DDB Mudra opines that the TVC has been successful when it comes to depicting the passion everyone has for the game of cricket, whether it is a youngster playing 'gulli' cricket or at a stadium next to his complex or Indian athletes.

"Interesting editing techniques have been used to weave all the stories together and show them as one big story. The background sound track is also very interesting as different voices have been used to build the momentum. However, in terms of uniqueness of idea, it does not make me say 'wow'," adds Raja.

Shiveshwar Raj Singh, group creative director, Draftfcb Ulka, says, "When one looks at the Nike commercial, one expects to see boundaries being pushed, status quo being challenged, and adrenalin being pumped. 'Parallel journeys' attempts and to some extent succeeds in this effort. It's got exotic locales, good casting, great camerawork and tight editing. The story of India's big beautiful game being played with equal intensity on every gulli or ground is clear. What's missing is the spontaneous soul that the bus roof cricket commercial had. That's why I'll always remember the earlier commercial and maybe forget this one the moment the campaign ends."