Nothing epitomizes the plight that Greece has found inself in, better than the desolate venues that hosted the 2004 Olympic Games. One by one, these expensive sports centres, which cost fortunes to build, have been abandoned, left to rot, modern ruins of excessive spending, government corruption and the irresponsibe stance of a once-proud nation.
This is precisely the reason that these same projects were chosen as the perfect setting for Nike’s ad campaign. The sportswear giant is set to send an empowering, uplifting message, delivered by four of the most impressive and inspiring competitive athletes that emerged in Greece these past few years.
In the ad, swimmer Eleni Hatzimitrou, Paralympic runner Michalis Seitis, NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo and pole vaulter Nikoleta Kyriakopulou prepare to ply their craft. A voiceover, delivered in Greek, sends a message of defiance.
“We will not be defined by circumstance,” read the English captions. “We will not be undone by what is broken. We are more than our surroundings. We are the makers of our fate.”
The company’s Greek marketing department created the ad with Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, hoping to inspire the country’s athletes, amateur and professional alike. Its goal also includes showing “young people how sport can motivate them to improve their everyday lives, and help them to beat the odds and take ownership of their future,” the brand says. Although the ad avoids explicitly mentioning the financial crisis and its consequences – especially among the young population (which is the core target of the brand’s products) – the implications seem clear enough. Greek youth were hit particularly hard by dire fiscal straits, with almost 52 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds out of work—double the overall unemployment rate of 24.4 percent.