I’m totally in love with this new music video by Wieden + Kennedy Portland, on behalf of Foot Locker and Nike. So many brands have turned to hip-hop to get their message across, but very few have done it so well and with such a nuanced, layered approach. The actual song isn’t half bad; when you’re not dealing with professional rappers, there’s no better style than early ’90s rap. The rhythm’s slower, and the emphasis is more on delivery than vocabulary/verbal trickery. And getting an actual producer from the era (DJ Quik) never hurts. Durant, Lewis, Williams and Iguodala actually sound pretty decent. I’m not a big fan of the print, but the music video’s pretty fly, and I dig the message: play with style.
Nice work, W+K.