The fact that over 2 million kids end up in the ER because of sports injuries makes parents think twice before they allow their little ones to go out and play. With these statistics in mind, today’s parents are also increasingly becoming overprotective towards their children. Parents can’t always prevent their kids from getting hurt, but there’s something they can do to make their little ones feel better.
In partnership with Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai, and just in time for Children’s Day, Nike created the “Badge of Honor,” a product which aims to help restrictive parents overcome their fears and encourage their children to play hard, despite risking injuries.
Nike once again proves how good branding works. Nike has a history of showcasing people who push their physical limits and encouraging everyone of different athletic staminas to compete against themselves.
Now, the company has come up with a message for the parents of little ones: let them play, take risks, fail, and get back up again, stronger.
The innovative product includes a range of unique and colored band-aids. There are 14 bandages of various shapes and sizes, intelligently packaged in 4 different units.
Available at no cost to the parents after they buy one of Nike’s Young Athletes products at selected retail shops, the nicely wrapped medical bandages unfold into a series of comic strips, dedicated to sports like basketball, running, football, and skateboarding. Each cartoon presents fictional stories of athletes that had the courage to get up, play hard, and fight until the end despite various setbacks.
Since every sticker has its own story, the agency created four short animations with different scenarios. The videos feature the cartoon versions of famous Chinese athletes who encourage the main characters to think of their injuries not as obstacles in achieving their goals, but rather as one more step towards their victory.
Speaking about the idea behind this concept, Executive Creative Director at W+K Shanghai, Ian Toombs, said that, “Overprotective parents are afraid to let their children play hard. Our solution is the Nike Badge of Honor. They’re bandages, they’re stickers, they’re non-conventional storytelling devices.”
Terence Leong, creative director at the Shanghai based-agency, added, “We created the Badge of Honor to remind us as parents of the important lessons sports teaches.”
Check out below how cartoon versions of renowned Chinese athletes, like the country’s fastest sprinter, Su Bingtian, the goalkeeper of Women’s football team, Zhao Lina, high jumper, Zhang Guowei, and basketball player, Yi Jianlian, push the protagonists of the comics to keep trying.
Credits:
Client: Nike
Agency: WIEDEN+KENNEDY SHANGHAI
Executive Creative Director: Ian Toombs
Creative Directors: Terence Leong, Shaun Sundholm
Art Directors: Timothy Cheng, Max Pilwat
Copywriter: Liu Wei
Designers: Deer Sheng, John Yao
Executive Producer: Bernice Wong
Producer: Fang Yuan
Assistant Producer: Juni Zhu
Digital Producer: Angela Liu
Editor: Leon Yan
Head of Integrated Production: Jacob Lincoln
Senior Planner: Leon Lin
Account Manager: Chuck Xu
Account Executive: Xueer Ren
Business Director: Dino Xu
Project Manager: Nicole Bee
Business Affairs: Jessica Deng, Kathy Zha
Production Manager: Vic Zhang
Digital Imaging Artist: Changqing Lee
FA Artist: Austin Hu, Stone Xue
External Credits
Production Company: Amanacliq
Producer: Edie Zhang
Artists:
Wassim (Football)
Pete Sharp (Running)
Lili Des Bellons (Basketball)
Stevie Gee (Skateboard)
Animation
Football
Production Company: Passion Pictures
Animation Studio: Le Cube
Creative Director: Ralph Karam
Director: Mariano Fernandez Russo
Running
Production Company: Amanacliq
Director: Tom Bunker
Artist: Pete Sharp
SFX: Ryan West
Basketball + Skateboard
Production Company: Brand New School – Los Angeles
Director: Brumby Boylston
Music + Sound
Audio Post: Green United Music SH
VO Sound Studio: LISTEN Studio
Bandage production
Nantong City YOJO Medical Products Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Yu Kai Packaging Materials Co., Ltd.