'The Hardest Commercial I Have Ever Edited.' How Nike Created Its Split-Screen Masterpiece

The ad required extensive creative planning—and more than 1,000 hours of compositing

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The best advertising ideas are often simple in concept but fiendishly difficult in execution.

On such a scale, this one might have surpassed them all.

Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” from Wieden+Kennedy Portland brought life to a concept that’s easy to describe, effortless to watch but brain-meltingly complex to assemble.

Using a split screen, Nike aimed to draw unexpected parallels between different athletes from a wide range of sports. The message would be one of unity that bridges all aspects of athletics.

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