NIKE | San Silvestre Vallecana 2003 | 2004
Don't Run from the Bear, Run in Front of It / NIKE "San Silvestre Vallecana 2003"
It starts with a news story that sounds made up: lightning strikes the statue of a bear on Madrid's coat of arms, and it comes to life and runs off. That's how this campaign begins—and it ended up winning Spain's first Cannes Lions Grand Prix in Digital.
The problem
San Silvestre Vallecana was originally a local New Year's Eve race with fewer than 5,000 participants. Nike came on as a sponsor, hoping to win over the people of Madrid and grow the number of runners.
The insight
You're not born a Madrileño, you become one. So why not run right in front of the bear, with pride? The line "Don't run from the bear, run in front of it" has that classic Nike defiance to it.
The idea
The website played an inner monologue of a runner being chased by the bear, and let people register for the race and upload a photo of their face right there. Doing this back in 2003 was ahead of its time. There was also a game where bear sightings spread around the city, tying the offline and online experience together properly.
What happened
The campaign won the Grand Prix and Gold at Cannes Lions, a Gold Pencil at the One Show, and the Grand Prix at El Sol as well. The race itself later grew to 40,000 runners, and registration sold out within 48 hours of opening.
Afterthought
Starting from a lie and landing it squarely on the brand's real message—that kind of nerve is something else. And the idea of uploading a photo of your face, in 2003? Impressive that anyone thought of that back then.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2004
Featured in
- Only the Ones Marked 'First'Reading through the Grand Prix records in order, from the very first in 1954 to 2022
