Cannes Contender: Stop At Nothing, AnalogFolk for Nike

 

 


Tell us about your role in the creation of this work.

AnalogFolk was the digital agency for ‘Nulla Puo Fermaci’ (Stop At Nothing). Nike was the client, and we teamed up Mindshare (media), W+K (hero AV) and TikTok (platform).

 

Give us an overview of the campaign, what is it about and when was it released?

In Milan, 55% of women between 14 and 24 don’t participate in sport. Sportswomen are rarely seen or celebrated and when they are, they’re often sexualised and valued for their appearance over their capabilities. So we partnered with Nike Italy to create the campaign ‘Nulla Puo Fermaci’ (Stop At Nothing), which aims to change perceptions by encouraging Milan’s young women to spread the infectious joy of sport, and ultimately play and be seen.

Our first task was to understand what was stopping young Milanese women from participating in sport. We discovered that despite the boundaries like a lack of female sports teams at schools and stereotyping of young female athletes, young women were in fact moving. Not on the sports field, but on TikTok - the video-centric social media app which has taken the world by storm - where they were taking part in dance challenges across Italy.

The next step was for us to identify a team of superstar female athletes who could share their world-class sporting skills. We paired them with four Milanese girls – each a TikTok phenomenon in their own right - and developed the Nulla Puo Fermaci Dance Challenges, inspired by genuine sporting moves. The campaign was the first of its kind for TikTok, with a fully branded takeover including a campaign page and in-platform ads. 

Launched in February, results include 100m+ views and 540k+ likes for the three challenges, with 20m+ #basketbeat views in just 36 hours. More than 46k user-generated routines were posted in response, along with an engagement rate that was double the TikTok benchmark.

 

How did the client initially react to the idea?

It was a great project from start to finish. Everyone was excited to work on and create a project that went beyond engagement to real-world action with far-reaching effects. Alongside this, it was also a project full of energy and enthusiasm, especially with many of us partnering with TikTok for the first time and witnessing the possibilities on the platform.

 

Besides a Cannes Grand Prix, what would you like to see this win?

A Grand Prix would obviously be nice, as is receiving any award or recognition. What we would really like to see, however, is the project continue to impact the way young female athletes are perceived in Italy. It would be awesome if Stop At Nothing could help inspire generations of young women to get into sport.

 

What would a Lion represent for this campaign, your agency and yourself?

In a nutshell, winning a Lion would represent recognition from industry peers of the creativity and hard work that went into the campaign. It would certainly be a ‘high five moment’ with our wonderful client Nike, the amazing team and everyone involved.

For us as an agency, it would be another great example of how we work with our clients to bring our mission of using digital to make the analog world better to life.

 

What about this work do you think will make it stand out to the jury?

Firstly I think the campaign is interesting because it has a great mix of purpose, execution and results, combined with a refreshing way to reach the desired audience on an up-and-coming platform.

What really makes it stand out is that Stop At Nothing breaks away from duplicating the “rallying cry of empowerment” approach, and instead moves towards truly understanding the barriers for young women in Milan entering sport. It’s centered on young women assuming power. And by doing so the campaign creates a long-term behaviour change programme that leads to real action, not just social sharing.

 

It is the second year of the new “Cannes Lions”. What are your thoughts on this? Is it now easier or harder to win a Lion?

It’s always a challenge to win a Cannes Lion. For our industry, it is still the pinnacle and the quality of creativity and work is outstanding. In that sense, I don’t think the changes affect how hard it is to win a Lion but my hope is that the new rules help reduce the number of dominant winners and that we see more of the less-well-known work from independent agencies being recognised.

 

Where do you see this campaign going in the future?

Not enough young women participating in sports isn’t an Italy specific, it’s a global one. Gender disparity in sport continues to linger around the world. Considering the continued meteoric rise of TikTok, we hope to be able to scale Stop At Nothing’s success on the platform to other parts of the world.

 

AnalogFolk
Digital
London, Großbritannien
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