From time to time, one of the thousands of running shoe updates offered to the market every year, is a unique selling proposition. Nike has had several of these in its history. The newest is in the Nike Free 5.0. It’s the most flexible shoe in history.
To make sure the launch got the attention Nike believed it deserved, Nike’s advertising agency in Uruguay, Publicis Impetu, came up with a packaging-as-ad idea.
It developed a tiny Nike Free box – one third the size of a normal shoebox - into which it folded the runners. Only the Nike Free is able to fold like this.
The boxes are identical to any Nike shoebox except for their tiny size. They were offered as a limited edition promotion during the Nike Free 5.0 launch phase, designed to surprise the first buyers and get the story spread in trade, sports and social media.
As well as demonstrating the benefit of the product, the packaging uses less cardboard and reduces shipping and storage space. The idea won a Silver Lion in design at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last month.
Creative Credits:
Client: Nike
Agency: Publicis Impetu
Executive creative directors: Esteban Barreiro, Mario Taglioretti
Art director: Diego Besenzoni
Copywriter: Federico Cibils