Nike is celebrating how sport can play an important role in creating queer joy with a powerful new social campaign emphasising that Pride is for life, not just for June.
Directed by queer writer-director Abel Rubinstein, best known for ITV mini-series ‘Life in Love’, the sportswear brand’s social-first ‘No Pride, No Sport’ campaign will highlight the way that LGBT athletes are ‘redefining’ the future of sport.
Spearheaded by two 60-second films following LGBT athletes in European capitals, the works are a blend of native content, live action and archive footage to create a fresh, fast-paced, inclusive feel.
Set in Berlin, the first episode spotlights Jarred and Hany – two runners who belong to the Joy Run Collective, a initiative for LGBT women of colour and their allies to run, support each other and socialise.
In the second, we meet Leon and Yassin who are Nike trainers at Paris-based queer-friendly fitness studio KAH, who detail how the personal growth that sport can facilitate has enabled them to discover their true identities.
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Developed by creative agency Soursop, the Nike work underpins the firm’s commitment to representative film-making led by a team with a strong LGBT contingent, including creative director Fran Marchesi, director Abel Rubinstein and director of photography Jack Hamilton.
“This is a project that’s been particularly close to my heart. It was important to me especially when making queer work with a commercial brand amid the backdrop of rampant pride washing, to show the true lived experience that reflects current conversation and feeling in the queer world,” Marchesi said.
“That shows all of our different ways of being. The fact that in this work we’re able to showcase a range of stories from the simple joys of running to living proudly with AIDS through Nike’s enormous media megaphone is an incredible milestone for me both personally and professionally.”
