NIKE | BREAKING2 | 2018
The World Held Its Breath Over 25 Impossible Seconds / NIKE "BREAKING2"
Breaking two hours in the marathon. For that single goal, Nike spent three years. On May 6, 2017, three of the world's fastest runners gathered at an F1 racetrack in Italy.
The problem
The world record at the time was 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 57 seconds. Cutting that by 2.5% was seen as an "absolutely massive" challenge. Nike brought together scientists and engineers to push the limits, and entrusted the attempt to three of the greatest runners in the world: Kipchoge of Kenya, Desisa of Ethiopia, and Tadese of Eritrea.
The insight
Nike made it clear this wasn't a marketing stunt—the real purpose was to find out whether humans could actually run that fast. So they showed everything, without hiding anything. They opened up this attempt, one that might well fail, to the entire world through a live broadcast and a documentary.
The idea
They chose the flat Monza racetrack and projected the ideal pace onto the ground with lasers, while a reverse V-shaped formation of pacers cut through the wind. The runners wore a new shoe designed for a 4% boost in running efficiency. On the day, it was 12 degrees Celsius with light rain. The final time was 2 hours, 0 minutes, and 25 seconds. They broke the world record by more than two minutes, but didn't reach their goal.
What happened
The documentary won Gold in Entertainment Lions for Sport and Bronze in TV & VOD Non-Fiction at Cannes Lions—National Geographic's first-ever Gold Lion. On social media, it reportedly racked up 2 trillion impressions.
Afterthought
Twenty-five seconds short. But no one called it a failure. Two years later, Kipchoge broke the two-hour barrier, albeit unofficially. Without that lonely challenge run on a racetrack with no one watching that morning, that story would never have begun.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2018
