Viral Brand vs. Vital Brand
Advertising is losing relevance. Except when it’s not.
What advertising used to be
Early in my career, I witnessed the making of an epic advertising campaign, The Secret Tournament, in 2002. I started working with Nike the year prior but not on their football business yet.
It was one of the first campaigns to integrate offline advertising and online activations seamlessly and successfully. “Epic” was the right adjective.
Nike has had a number of memorable World Cup campaigns, the biggest global event, without being an official sponsor. “Write the Future” from 2010 was another—and possibly the last—epic campaign.
Until then, advertising had a replicable formula.
Come up with the Big Idea. Create a cinematic spot. Plaster key visuals everywhere, offline and online.
Technology spent the last 20 years fragmenting media and audiences, leaving everyone confused about what actually worked. The playbook changed every few years. In 2026, a year is a very long time.
The Internet democratized marketing and advertising, lowering the entry barrier for many brands, big or small. Many things became free or cheap.
Until they weren’t.
Capitalism works in simplistic ways. Money brings in more money, concentrating power. It controls price, making things more expensive. The world is increasingly a winner-takes-all model.
The good news is that what worked in 2002 and 2010 may work again in 2026.
Adidas is bringing back that playbook. A few weeks ago, it revealed “Backyard Legends,” a cinematic story featuring Timothée Chalamet, Bellingham (England’s star midfielder), and Yamal (Spanish protégé) with appearances from past giants like Zidane, Beckham, and Del Piero, and cameos by Messi and Bad Bunny.
It generated early World Cup buzz. A month after its release, it has 6.7 million YouTube views. Not a bad start.
Last week, Nike took this to a new level with “Rip the Script.” It is an understatement to call it star-studded.
It features global superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappé, Haaland, Vini Jr, and LeBron.
Past icons like Cantona, Ronaldinho, Zlatan, and Drogba.
Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Lisa, Travis Scott, Channing Tatum.
Four days after release: over 60 million views.
Great news for Nike.
Bad news: What may work for Nike won’t work for 99.9% of brands.
Some brands might sign a couple of these names. Most could only dream of paying for one star.
It’s not that Nike can spend that kind of money. They probably shouldn’t.
Nike’s revenue has been flat. Its stock has traded in the mid-$40 to $60s over the last 6 to 12 months, down from over $150 a few years ago. This spot isn’t cheap.
What’s noteworthy is that Nike is willing to swing big.
The Playbook
What can the 99.9% learn from this?
Mission as filter
Nike was the first company I worked with that was almost religious about its mission: “Bring inspiration and innovation to every single athlete* in the world (* = if you have a body, you are an athlete).” I heard this statement in the onboarding session and felt it in every meeting thereafter.
When the mission is clear, decisions become simple: what to make, who to cast, what to say.
I feel that ethos from Nike again.
The visible Key Product Moment
Nike goes out of its way to make their products noticeable on screen. Later this month, many players will wear bright-colored cleats. Nike’s focusing on players’ speed by equipping them with visible Air Zoom, a shoe technology engineered to compress and spring back.
The benefit being visible. That’s what I call the Key Product Moment. Let it do as much of the talking as possible.
Show concept > Ad concept
The biggest mistake brands make is treating their social media as free advertising space. No one watches TV for the ads; we don’t check social for them either.
Develop a repeatable series premise that delivers entertainment, utility, or status, not advertising or promotion.
Viral vs. Vital
In December 2025, I made a prediction in my newsletter:
Nike releases an epic film ad around the World Cup; along with strong, innovative products, the stock rebounds above $80 from $63.52 (Dec 2025), but its high was in 2021 at $177.51.
The first part of this prediction wasn’t hard because Nike is known to ambush events like the World Cup or Olympics without being an official sponsor.
The more important question is the second part.
Brilliant advertising can announce a comeback. Only the product can confirm it. Nike’s greatest eras weren’t built on advertising alone.
Nike Air Max. Air Jordan. Zoom Vaporfly. Flyknit.
These products were so remarkable that people talked about them before the campaigns ran. The advertising amplified what was already there.
Peter Drucker said the purpose of marketing is to understand the customer so well that the product sells itself. He wasn’t talking about advertising, but about building something worth talking about and letting as many people as possible know it exists.
Back in Drucker’s day, the media landscape was much simpler. Other than major outlets, no one could broadcast. Today, everyone is a broadcaster. People are the media.
That’s why we need to think in a flywheel, not just a funnel.
Funnel thinking is linear whereas the Flywheel of Brand is circular: product creates believers, believers create reach, reach creates growth, and growth funds better product. Campaigns amplify, but the product keeps it spinning.
The tournament begins June 11. It ends in mid-July.
Viral asks how many people saw us. Vital asks how many people need us.
Sixty million views in four days is a powerful answer to the first question. The answers to the second are product sell-through, market share shifts, repeat demand—not just the stock tick.
Going viral is not a strategy. It’s a moment. What you build with that moment is the strategy.
That Nike ad was a bit… “look who we can get” and less “how fun is football”. The adidas one nailed it.