Nike and Wieden+Kennedy Portland have won a Film Grand Prix at Cannes for "You Can't Stop Us."

The jury, chaired by Adam&Eve/DDB's chief creative officer Richard Brim, decided to award the film as one of two Grand Prix for 2021, alongside Libresse "WombStories," and one film for 2020, Lacoste's "The Crocodile Inside." 

Released in summer 2020,the film expertly spliced together otherwise unrelated found scenes of different athletes to make it appear as if they were moving as one. It was directed by Oscar Hudson of Pulse Films.

Brim said in a jury debrief session that for Nike, “everybody remembered how they felt when they saw it. It’s an excellent piece of work by any year’s standard.” 

Original story: 

Today marks the return of the NBA and to celebrate, Nike has rallied more than 50 athletes across two dozen sports in a visually inventive spot reminding viewers “You Can’t Stop Us.”

In the third spot of the campaign, soccer pro Megan Rapinoe delivers a rousing speech alongside a series of 36 split-screen scenes that splice together dynamic moves of pairs of athletes, as if they are performing as one. A tennis forehand becomes a baseball swing; swimmers and runners get on their marks, seemingly side by side; a skateboarder making a sharp turn becomes a surfer riding a wave.  

The point? To underscore the common thread between athletes all over the world.  “We’re never alone,” Rapinoe says. “And that is our strength.”

The piece highlights how resourceful and inventive post-production techniques can help create standout messages despite current pandemic restrictions on filmmaking. Creating the ad required sifting through 4,000 pieces of footage to find action scenes that could merge within a single frame. Wieden & Kennedy Portland was behind the film, with Oscar Hudson of Pulse Films directing, editing out of JOINT and VFX from A52.

Along with Rapinoe, other sports stars featured include Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, Eliud Kipchoge, Kylian Mbappé. Naomi  Osaka,  Cristiano Ronaldo, Caster Semenya and Serena Williams.

In one fell swoop, the spot pulls in what seems like all of the sporting world while addressing the ills affecting the world today, from the pandemic to racial injustice.

At one point, we hear an announcer say, “The world’s sporting events are postponed or canceled,” as we see scenes of cleaning crew sanitizing stadium and arena seats. Another scene shows Colin Kaepernick and fellow 49ers taking a knee alongside University of Nevada basketball plates. 

“We know things won’t always go our way,” Rapinoe continues.  “But whatever it is, we’ll find a way. And when things aren’t fair, we’ll come together for change. And no matter how bad it gets, we will always come back stronger because nothing can stop what we can do together.”