Nike enlists Wayne Rooney for social media boot reveal
Nike has kicked off a social media push to mark the launch of its Hypervenom football boot as it looks to generate more buzz than rivals Adidas and Puma ahead of this summer’s Confederations Cup in Brazil.
The new boots will be revealed on Facebook and Twitter today (28 May) by brand ambassadors including Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski. The players have been sent boxes of the boots, which are timed to open today.
It will be the first time fans have had a chance to officially view the footwear since Nike started began running teasers on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube earlier this month. Follow-up activity will show the boots being used by the players.
Brazilian international and recently unveiled Barcelona signing Neymar is fronting the push, which positions the boots as “A New Breed of Attack”. The footballer has appeared in a YouTube video of him receiving the timed package (see below) and has also been tweeting about the range with the #Hypervenom hashtag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYVeAFAZ0ac
Some adverts also feature the following statement: “The game has changed, Defenders are faster and stronger than ever before. It takes more than just speed and technique to dominate. You need to be deceptive. You need to be unpredictable. Because they can’t stop what they don’t know is coming.”
The boots are likely to be worn by some of Nike’s more high-profile stars at next month’s Confederations Cup. It is understood a launch event will be held in Sao Paolo ahead of the tournament with Nike aiming to reaffirm its ties to Brazilian football ahead of next year’s World Cup. The sportswear brand is looking to steal a march on Adidas and Puma who have yet to start to heavily promoting their latest boots.
Adidas is looking to counter Nike’s efforts with a multichannel push for its new Nitrocharge boot. The sports brand is rolling out an advertising campaign, created in partnership with We Are Social, Hill and Knowlton Strategies and Fitch, focusing on the type of player it describes as “The Engine”. It says the player type’s “relentless energy” reflects the technology behind the boot.
The boot is being promoted by players including Bayern Munich’s Javi Martinez and Borussia Dortmund’s Sven Bender alongside Daniele De Rossi (A.S. Roma), Dani Alves (Barcelona) & Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris Saint Germain) through TV, Facebook, in-store and PR activity.
