Nike Music Shoe
Nike Free+ was designed with an extremely flexible sole. To promote it, we positioned the campaign as a “Hyper Demonstration”—taking the most basic form of product demo and pushing it to an extreme. By creating a sneaker that produced sound when bent and turning it into a musical instrument, we transformed a product demonstration into pure entertainment.
The film sparked global conversation, with audiences debating whether the performance was real or fake. Beyond winning major industry awards such as Cannes Lions, The One Show, and London International Awards, the campaign helped establish the Nike Free concept of natural running in the mainstream. Today, Nike Free remains one of the brand’s most popular and enduring product lines.
Behind the scene
A week after launch, we released the behind-the-scenes film—just as online debate peaked over whether the Nike Music Shoe was real or fake. By revealing how we had actually built sneakers that produced sound and used them to perform, the film proved the idea was genuine and reignited buzz, effectively creating a second wave of attention for the campaign.
One of the most memorable moments for me personally was the intro. The decision to open with 2001: A Space Odyssey was made at 1 am the night before the shoot. After a late-night meeting with the musicians HIFANA, I went home, pulled up the track on YouTube, and—despite being the art director—ended up ear-copying the melody myself at 3 am before heading straight back to set. It was chaotic and last-minute, but it elevated the performance and became one of my fondest memories of the project.
Start by Surprising the Client
For the presentation, my goal was to amaze the client right from the start—even though the Music Shoe itself didn’t exist yet. I slipped an iPhone into a sneaker, opened a synthesizer app, and played it with my thumb while bending the shoe. This improvised setup kept the sound and visuals perfectly in sync, making the concept instantly clear.
After showing the video, I went further and performed live in front of them. The client was stunned and exclaimed, “It’s already done!” From that moment, the idea was instantly approved.
RT Tasuki
In Japan, one of the biggest New Year sports traditions is the Hakone Ekiden, a long-distance relay race for university teams. To support five universities sponsored by Nike, we created a digital cheering system called RT Tasuki.
In the race, runners pass a traditional tasuki sash as a baton. We reimagined it for the digital era: Nike’s Twitter account posted ASCII-art versions of the tasuki, and all fans had to do was retweet. Each retweet extended the sash on a special website, connecting into an ever-growing “Tasukii ART.”
Girl Runs Boy
For the launch of the Lunarglide+ 5 women’s running shoes, we created a social campaign with the bold tagline “Girl Runs Boy.” It turned the usual dynamic on its head: only women could issue running challenges to men through a Facebook game.
Women set the date, time, and distance without the men’s prior consent. If a man ignored the challenge, the app automatically declared the woman the winner, posting an image that showed he had backed out. Integrated with the Nike+ app, the game tracked runs and determined the real winners.
The campaign playfully celebrated female empowerment in sport—making it clear that in this race, women set the pace.