What are girls made of?, What will they say about you?, T... - Nike | Clapboard Ad Archive

Nike’s 2017 campaign What are girls made of? developed with Wieden + Kennedy for the fashion and apparel market in the Netherlands, reframes the dialogue around female identity by grounding it in action and self-determination rather than inherited stereotypes or external judgments. Unfolding through cinematic storytelling and aspirational visuals, the campaign connects Nike’s global Just Do It philosophy with emergent conversations around gender empowerment, redefining what it means to be a girl through the prism of real achievement and resilience. By harnessing the power of relatable female protagonists—athletes and everyday girls alike—the work delivers potent, user-centric inspiration that encourages audiences to see their reflection in the very acts and ambitions celebrated onscreen: a creative choice that sits squarely in what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#10—Associated User Imagery. This strategic approach amplifies Nike’s role as a brand for those who defy expectations and embrace challenge, offering young women agency to construct their own narratives rather than inhabit roles prescribed by society. The rhetorical engine of the campaign, with titles like What will they say about you?, frames empowerment not as abstraction but as a dynamic, lived process, reinforced across digital touchpoints by virally charged hashtags including #BelieveinMore and #JustDoIt, harnessing social momentum and driving deep community engagement well beyond traditional advertising reach. With over 4 million YouTube views, the campaign’s resonance is measurable, indicating a strong cultural connection with a broad, socially conscious viewership eager for nuanced, progressive representation in a sector often dominated by prescriptive beauty or compliance messaging. Nike’s branding operates at a global scale but finds relevance in local context, tapping European shifts in the conversation about femininity, participation, and performance, and establishing the brand as an advocate, not just for better sportswear, but for self-actualization. Clapboard rates this 82/100. While the campaign’s purpose-driven stance on identity remains deeply topical, it matters for the industry because it demonstrates how aligning brand narrative with genuine self-affirmation can forge authentic loyalty in an audience increasingly resistant to conventional aspiration tropes.