Nike Asked Kids to Build a Metaverse World Inspired by Its Classic Air Max Sneaker

The brand wants to make the shoe relevant to a younger generation

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Nike’s Air Max sneaker has gained a cult following among millennials since its debut in 1987 but, 34 years later, the brand faces a challenge: How do you make the shoe relevant to a younger generation?

Nike’s answer was to head to the metaverse and enlist kids to create a digital world centered around the Air Max

Each year on March 26, the brand holds Air Max Day, a celebration of the iconic sneaker. Since Nike is releasing the first Air Max shoe just for kids, it decided to give creative control of its annual campaign to the product’s target audience. 

The result is Airtopia, a magical world for kids that will take over Nikeland, the brand’s virtual environment that launched last year on digital platform Roblox. 

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