Nike had never done a Just Do It campaign in Germany: adidas’s back yard. I was finally able to put my German degree to good use when I was asked to do it. It coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down and with a country trying to find room for 2 million Syrian refugees.
We were asked to show what sport meant for the new face of Germany.
For us, the answer was that it inspires people. When you see someone like you doing something amazing, whether it’s break the world record or even simply compete, you start to believe you can do it too. When you see someone doing something incredible who who comes from the same place as you do, or who looks like you, or is an outcast like you, that means something. They are your heroes. Or in German: “Helden”.
With the brief in mind, we decided to bring a new face to old German songs too. So first, we doubled down on the Berlin Wall moment by taking a song about the moment the wall came down, sung in German by a little known artist called David Bowie, and having a little known German artist called Hans Zimmer remix it.
Then, we made films about our heroes.
Zeina Nassar changed the world of boxing forever by being the first woman to compete in a hijab. Not content with being the best boxer in Germany in her weight class, she literally changed the rules of the sport to allow her to compete in a way that allowed the real her to compete, as she wanted to be. It was only right to take a Rammstein song about boxing and remix it with the ever badass Balbina.