Selling 400,000 pairs of boots, inside a video game / Nike "I AM PLAYR"

The problem

In 2012 Britain, TV rules around product placement were strict, leaving brands little room to work their way into stories. Nike was after soccer-obsessed teenagers — an audience that ordinary ads could no longer reach.

The insight

The idea from We R Interactive was simple: instead of slapping the brand onto a game, weave it into the game's core. I AM PLAYR put you in the shoes of a player signed to a fictional club, making every decision yourself — your agent, your nights out, your love life, all in a first-person soccer game. Nike was just there, part of that everyday life.

The idea

It ran on Facebook and featured real players like Gerrard and Walcott. Made with a film company, the first-person footage felt less like a game and more like an interactive movie. Players could try on Nike boots inside the game and buy them if they liked them. Rather than showing you an ad, the whole path to purchase was built into the game itself.

What happened

Within a little over a year of launch, more than 10 million people played across 226 countries. Inside the game, nearly 400,000 pairs of Nike boots were sold, and the campaign won a Gold Lion at Cannes Lions in 2012.

Afterthought

Back when the term "branded content" was still fresh, this showed what an ad that never gets in your way could look like. Players never felt they were being advertised to — they were just absorbed in living a footballer's life. And quietly, within that life, Nike left its mark. The service itself is gone now, but that number — 400,000 pairs — remains.

Awards

• Cannes Lions Gold 2012

Featured in

• Opening Shop Inside the GameHow do you step into a world where someone else is already lost in play?

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