While lauded by some circles, Nike’s “You Can’t Win, So Win” ad during Super Bowl broadcast did not land a decisive victory for the brand like the Philadelphia Eagles recorded in their win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The company’s first commercial during the NFL season’s culminating game in 27 years, which featured the biggest names in women’s sports and was narrated by Grammy winner Doechii, came only days after a Nike investor meeting in New York and its stock falling to a six-month low after the session.
Both CBS Sports and publisher Sports Ilustrated called the one-minute Nike spot from ad house Weiden+Kennedy Portland the game’s best. But Fox, which broadcast the game in the US, did not agree with its assessment of the commercial and cited criticisms of it by female athletes and executives alike.
Clearly, Nike was aiming to make a statement, perhaps one that will help ignite its fortunes with investors and consumers around the globe, including female athletes. The company will report its Q3 results next month, and analyst forecasts are projecting an 11 percent year-over-year sales decline. BMO Capital Markets analyst Simeon Siegel in a Feb. 3 report noted that Nike has a history of bouncing back from slumps.
“Nike really channeled its “Just Do It” roots with this one,” wrote CBS Sports. “…If you put Led Zepplin’s “Whole Lotta Love” over any montage of elite athletes silencing their doubters, it’s probably going to be a winner.”
SI.com’s assessment of the commercial concurred, writing, “It’s tough to unseat the funny ads for the top spot in a Super Bowl commercials’ ranking, but the literal chills felt watching the final “You Can’t Win, So Win” cut across the screen allows Nike to supersede everyone else this year.”
Many critics of the Nike Super Bowl spot called out the brand’s official stance in supporting trans athletes competing in women’s sports, which contrary to President Trump’s position on the matter.
Former Levi’s executive and US gymnast Jennifer Sey, today the founder of the XX-XY Athletics start-up, commented about the Nike commercial on X. “You’re so full of it. The only thing female athletes are told they can’t do is stand up for the integrity of their sports, for keeping men out of women’s sports.”
Journalist Michelle Tafoya also commented on the issue, adding, “Nike is too late to this party. And they’re stuck in a stereotypical language from about 25 years ago…What a waste of ad dollars.”
