October 21st to October 30th 2004

Paris Metro Station Auber / Le Citadium /
Le Printemps de la mode

SITUATION

October 2004. Nike celebrated more than 30 years of historical association with Basketball. An heritage of 30 years highlighted by the launch of mythical products, and also by unforgettable advertising campaigns and the creation of legendary logosÂ…
And of course, by outstanding athletes .
Such an history had to be reported to the massesÂ…

CONCEPT

La MJC’s mission was to narrate 30 years of association between Nike and Bastketball through a large-scale exhibition, for a more popular and less informed target.

The exhibition was planned to take place in the heart of the Paris metro station Auber, and to be declined in the Printemps de la Mode et Citadium Paris department stores in order to reach more specific targets : women and sneakers addicts.

RETRO BASKET IN AUBER METRO STATION:

For 9 days, the metro station hosted an historical retrospective displayed in different rooms to set several atmospheres :

Legendary sneakers (e.g. Blazer, Dunk, Terminator, Air Force 1 etcÂ…), old ad campaigns, vintage TV commercials, authentic original clothes signed by the most prestigious basketball stars,etcÂ…

Thanks to the deplays by period (70’s, 80’s, ..), by line (Flight Vs Force) or by basketball star (the kid bedroom dedicated to Michael Jordan was the show topper), the exhibition was complete and gave a large vision of the association between Nike and basketball.

RETRO BASKET IN LE PRINTEMPS DE LA MODE

The mythical Paris department store had to be the link with women.
Therefore, two French actresses were chosen to embody the Retro Basket phenomena and to be displayed on the department store’s windows.
Emma de Caunes and Julie Gayet, were the ones as they were long time Nike fans, so they accepted to be part of a special fashion story shot by New York photographer, Martha Camarillo.
Relaxed and authentic on every visual, they showed their love for the Retro Basket products in the pages of French ELLE magazine and on the windows of Le Printemps de La Mode.

RETRO BASKET IN CITADIUM

As the favorite Paris sport department store of the new generation, Le Citadium was dedicated to the sneakers culture during the exhibition.

In each window of the store, different universes in connection with sneakers culture were displayed. They all represented a jump into the past.

Kids bedrooms were designed and decorated with collector items, gadgets, vintage atari game systems and old posters.
Of course, each window included some authentic original sneakers mixed with retro ones.

Furthermore, inside the store, most of the retros re-issued for the event were sold.

In Le Citadium, the space dedicated to Retro Basket became a surface of sale completely inspired by the basketball universe – wooden floor, wood benches and metal lockers

GOALS

-Popularize and enlarge the «Rétro Basket »phenomena thanks to the historical past of the brand.

-Give to the « Rétro Basket » key products a good visibility and exposure

-Narrate 30 years of Nike history through a large-scale exhibition for a more popular and less informed target.

-Boost the image of Nike in the opinion of the « Metro » targets, especially women.

RESULTS

-The outdoor ad campaign, particularly successful and designed by DDB Agency, attracted a large amount of visitors to Auber metro station.

-With supportive PR actions, the activity in Auber metro station and in the two department stores strongly increased during that period.

-The sales of Retro Basket items were excellent. Some of the products were out of stock by the end of the exhibition in Citadium.

PRESS COVERAGE