Nike have got everyone watching their new ad, and it’s amazing. Muhammed Daud Patel, Lister Community School
A three-minute ad by Nike has been hailed as very accurate in describing the people of London and their day to day struggles. The ad presents people from different areas of life, showing their struggles with daily activities in London and what they must do to overcome them. There are no clichés in this ad, Big Ben is never seen, the London eye is not in sight and places like Central London were completely forgotten. The ad focuses more on the residential and grittier places of London, like Peckham.
The ad’s diversity has been noted, not just in race but also in different pop and culture icons known especially by most Londoners. Big names such as Olympian Mo Farah and professional footballer Eden Hazard are included in this ad, as well as smaller (but still well known) artists such as grime rappers Dave, Jhus and Skepta. Although this ad features an array of different ethnicities, there were no prominent South-Asian figures in the ad. This prompted a backlash from the large communities of these people living in London. ITV news interviewed journalist Shafi Musaddique, he explained how Asian youth need role models to stop the rut of Asian figures in sport from being overlooked. You can see the whole ITV report here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdwWiWgFRR8
Nevertheless, this ad campaign has proved to be quite popular amongst Londoners and successfully conveys a message of how difficult it really is to be a Londoner.
Muhammed Daud Patel- Lister Community School
