Nike’s Powerful New Brand Anthem – “So Win” – Is All About Being the Best

“You can’t be demanding. You can’t be relentless. You can’t put yourself first. So put yourself first,” says Doechii’s voice over black-and-white imagery of some of the most iconic athletes in the world right now. Unveiled during Super Bowl LIX, Nike‘s “So Win” campaign stars Jordan Chiles, A’ja Wilson, Sha’Carri Richardson, Sophia Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Caitlin Clark, Alexia Putellas and Juju Watkins. Yes, all women.

“I don’t think we looked at it as a female message,” says Nicole Hubbard, Nike Chief Marketing Officer, speaking exclusively to us. “We looked at it as an athlete message. And we just happen to work with the most iconic athletes of today, and those happen to be women.”

The message behind the new brand anthem is as clear as it is relatable: that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be the best. For Hubbard, these athletes embody that through and through: “They show that when you have the resilience and put in the work, you can overcome any critic, any doubt, any hater.”

“Women’s sport isn’t the future, it’s right now,” says Sabrina Ionescu, who features in the anthem.

We’re seeing it in packed arenas, in TV ratings, in the way people are showing up for the game like never before. Commanding attention isn’t about being the loudest in the room. It’s about making sure that when you step up, everyone takes notice.”

The “So Win” campaign includes a 60-second, black-and-white film, a moving social media campaign and empowering imagery of individual sports stars. Together they bring to life Nike’s belief in the power of sport, and create a new picture of what achievement, strength, skill and power looks like. In the words of Jordan Chiles: “Winning isn’t just about medals, it’s about overcoming, about proving to yourself that you’re capable of more than you ever imagined. And doing it all authentically.”

When asked about using the Super Bowl as the moment to launch the new brand anthem, Hubbard said the event’s role as one of our last shared cultural moments was key. “The Super Bowl is big, it’s a lot of noise, it’s lots of color, it’s sugary water, it’s chips; and so we loved the idea of coming in with black-and-white, being a little more dramatic and breaking the frame, if you will. It’s like a reverse Wizard of Oz: starting in technicolor and going to black-and-white.”

And it’s only the beginning. “We really believe this is going to inspire everyone, and you’ll very quickly see this campaign move into men’s and dual gender,” teases Hubbard. So there’s plenty more to come. Scroll through the gallery above to see more of “So Win”.