Nike celebrates the ‘madness’ of Haaland, Vini Jr. and Mbappe in Euro 2024 ad

Americans tend to associate madness with basketball—of the March variety. Everywhere else in the world, it’s reserved for soccer (football) fandom. Nike leans into this with its grand Euro 2024 spot from Wieden+Kennedy London, themed “Awaken the Madness.” In this case, the madness applies to the players when they push themselves to the limit—something that does require a certain unhinged dedication. This is embodied by the ad’s three main stars: Norway’s Erling Haaland, Brazil’s Vinicius Jr. and France’s Kylian Mbappe. There’s also a guest appearance by Ronaldinho, the Brazilian magician who retired in 2018 but remains a magnetic figure in the sport. Also read: Adidas ad ‘Hey Jude’ captures England’s Euro hopes after years of heartbreak The ad is dark and surreal, yet playful as well. Commenters on YouTube immediately seized on the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, and indeed it’s been a long time since a global Nike Football ad didn’t include the Portuguese superstar. It’s doubly interesting since Ronaldo will be playing at Euro 2004—unlike Haaland (Norway didn’t qualify) or Vini Jr. (Brazil doesn’t take part in the Euros). The spot was directed by Sam Pilling through Magna Studios. The 2:20 spot followed a :30 released earlier this week, starring the young German winger Jamal Musiala. (Germany is hosting this year’s Euros.) See that spot below. Popular Creativity stories from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Nike celebrates the ‘madness’ of Haaland, Vini Jr. and Mbappe in Euro 2024 ad

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