NIKE INTRODUCES “PLAY NEW” CAMPAIGN

Nike believes that sport can inspire, create community and provide a platform for positive change. And sport is not just about competition – it can be about the joy of movement and the creativity of play.

Nike’s latest campaign, “Play New,” will invite people to discover sport in new ways, with multiple chapters of inspiring content and experiences coming throughout the rest of the year.

The campaign launches with an anthem film titled “Play New,” which features elite athletes Sabrina Ionescu, Dina Asher-Smith and Blake Leeper as well as the award-winning singer and dancer Rosalía, who join everyday athletes in having fun trying new sports.

* Sabrina Ionescu – one of the most decorated athletes in NCAA Basketball history and current star of the WNBA’s New York Liberty – tries her hand at tennis

* Dina Asher-Smith – the fastest British 100m and 200m female sprinter in recorded history – attempts to play golf

* Blake Leeper – a U.S. Paralympic athlete and an eight-time Paralympic Track and Field international medalist – heads into a batting cage with as much enthusiasm as a track

* Rosalía – an award-winning singer and dancer – takes to the archery range for the first time

In addition to the film, Nike will share a series of Play New stories featuring athletes and other protagonists on Nike’s digital ecosystem and social channels. These stories will highlight how sport has changed these athletes, and then how they have changed the world around them. Among the first few stories:

Dina Asher-Smith will share the impact sport had on her as a young runner, as a female athlete and now as a role model for girls and young women.

Sabrina Ionescu will talk about how her childhood game gave her the grit she has today, and why she’s determined to inspire the next generation of basketball players.

Nike will engage people to join in sport through its social channels as well, creating new ways of accessing sport through:

* Snapchat: Nike will soon introduce new Play New-themed full-body augmented reality Lenses to encourage people to enter a virtual world and try something new, like surfing, boxing, dancing or yoga. The AR Lenses will contain persistent storage – a new feature from Snapchat – so users can return to the Lens to see their scores and progress.

* TikTok: Nike will create a series of episodic journeys that follow TikTok creators as they try something new, sharing their funny and imperfect experiences with audiences. This will join Nike’s existing “Break It Down” content series featuring creators teaching their signature moves, to encourage youth to have fun and get moving.