Nike: MLB Defy Campaign

After years of inertia and stagnation, baseball took a giant leap forward and redefined itself with an evolved philosophy and players who are faster, stronger and hungrier than ever. To help Nike own this New Age of Baseball, we created a campaign that rewrote baseball mythology with a concept rooted in the defiance of limitations, expectations and the laws of physics.

The work centered around the best young players in the game and the stories of their athleticism. I directed a photoshoot of some of our baseball heroes with Portland photographer Steve Bonini. In post, we made these images look as gritty and authentic as the real game images.

The campaign was installed in Nike stores inside Major League Baseball stadiums across the country along with LED graphics and online content. Social media was used to create engagement outside the stadium, and advertising was placed in game programs to drive traffic to in-stadium Nike stores.

Photography: Steve Bonini, Portland