After an eight-year absence, Nike planned an aggressive reentry into the American football category. The launch would be coordinated with a 60-second television spot, directed by David Fincher, highlighting Nike’s association with the game of football and its role in equipping its brightest stars. A destination site (www.nikegridiron.com) was needed to fulfill the excitement generated by the campaign and to connect with Nike’s young, football-hungry audience.

R/GA, partnering with Nike and game developer Wild Tangent, created a breakthrough interactive experience that captures the action and intensity of the brand campaign. The site’s central content piece is a set of six Web-delivered 3-D football games. Each game is paired with one of Nike’s marquee athletes, whose unique style of speed is incorporated into the game play. The site was an instant success, generating millions of games played and breaking all Nike site traffic records. Registrants are able to track their scores against other players on the Jumbotron scoreboard, creating a sense of urgency and competitiveness within this unique gaming environment. Game content is supplemented by player interview videos and training videos that show users the specific drills used by the Nike athletes to build their speed.

R/GA’s visual and interaction design teams worked with the Nike Brand Design Group and Wieden + Kennedy to create a site that integrated tightly with Nike’s retail and brand activity. The site delivered the kinetic energy of the campaign through its extensive use of media—sophisticated Flash animation, video, music and 3-D games—creating a compelling and immersive experience for the user.

Ultra slick and immersive. Even though we are not the target audience, we were impressed by how interested we were in exploring the site.