We can all agree that the 987th year of the 2nd millennium, 1987, was a good year in terms of culture. In January, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later that year, in April, The Simpsons cartoon makes its first appearance as a series. The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, releases his seventh studio album, Bad, in the US. December saw Kylie Minogue being raised to global fame with her single “I Should Be So Lucky.” Although the release date is ambiguous, this is the year in which Tinker Hatfield designed the Nike Air Max. All of these moments influenced generations, especially the sneakers, which have gained massive popularity following their launch.

There’s a cult around these shoes, which are considered one of the most iconic sneakers of all time. Their “followers” must be honored properly, so Nike Japan decided that it is time to help them leave their own mark on the famous shoe. This year, and in a world-first, creative agency Akqa helped Nike’s Japanese office nurture its customers’ creativity via a new AR campaign. “Create with Air Max” invites sneakers lovers to be creative with the shoes and convince Nike that the new design — completely imagined by them — is worth including in the brand’s larger campaign.

The campaign is visible through a 56-page print zine, with black-and-white illustrations, specially created to entice enthusiasts to express their ideas on paper. The pilot experience asks users to scan the silhouette of the shoe and then customize their design in real-time. While hovering the phone’s camera over one of the book’s pages, the respective AR model of the Air Max shoe pops up, allowing users to color each section of the physical zine page.

Group Creative Director at AKQA Tim McDonell said: “The best creativity is often born out of restriction. Building a meaningful brand experience for a creative audience gave us the kindling to create something unprecedented. The combined skill sets of our Tokyo and Shanghai studios helped Nike capture the essence of Air Max in a whole new way and turn this opportunity into reality.”

The AR experience comes as a response to the COVID-19 crisis, which left many people isolated and unable to gather and share ideas. The zine adventure seeks for influencers’ submissions, with the best one being published in a magazine along with influencer interviews, community creations, and the interactive AR creation feature.

Credits:

Client: Nike Japan

Agency: Akqa