Culture Meets Code: Nike's Air Max Graffiti Store campaign

The real world and the digital world have been seen as two separate spaces for the longest time. Even today, it is hard for us to comprehend how the two are actually far more intertwined than we think.

Nike was privy to this and, staying true to its brand, decided to take their Air Max campaign to the streets of Sao Paolo, Brazil in 2019. Although a digital sales campaign, Nike knew that their target audience were real people who lived and breathed street culture. So, they collaborated with Brazilian street-art collective, InstaGraffiti, to spray paint the latest models of Air Max sneakers onto their existing graffiti art around the city.

The journey doesn't end there. Remember, this is a digital sales campaign. Nike made it such that if you were in the exact geo-location of the Air Max graffiti, you would be able to unlock the product for purchase on their website. Hence, the campaign name, Air Max Graffiti Stores.

Check it out:

Needless to say, the campaign was a huge success for Nike. Not only did they drive sales, they also received a lot of engagement and free promotion from their customers.

Nike understood that they were talking to real people, living in real world conditions. They understood the culture, beliefs and values that their audience subscribed to, and the political landscape that they were navigating. This made it possible for Nike to connect with their audience meaningfully and bridge the gap between the real world and the digital world with their campaign effectively.

We often plan for offline media and digital media separately, and stick to the usual channels available to us within each space. This siloed planning can be effective in driving certain objectives, but we have to break out of this mindset every now and then to acknowledge that we are trying to talk to real people who live life both physically and digitally. This can truly unlock a thought-provoking, emotion-evoking, and action-inducing marketing campaign.

I hope this campaign inspires you to combine culture and code in your next campaign!