Nike Made Another Knockout Spot, With Boxer Zeina Nassar

She’s down, but never count her out.

German boxer Zeina Nassar stars in “Sonne” (“Sun”), a stirring new Nike spot from Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam. 

Knocked to the canvas in the opening seconds of the two-minute film, the featherweight’s mind drifts back across her struggles to compete while wearing a traditional Muslim headscarf, which is banned by most boxing associations.

As the referee counts nine, Nassar’s cobwebs clear. She spots her family cheering in the crowd, finds the strength to rise and fights on. The line “You never do it just for yourself” flashes on screen. It’s part of the broader campaign, but in this case apropos of the amateur champion’s role in overturning an international boxing rule prohibiting hijabs in the ring. 

Nike describes “Sonne” as “a universal story emblematic of the pursuit of sport by all female athletes fighting for an equal playing field, no matter who they are or where they come from. It is a heroic celebration of sport as a powerful platform to make a statement, enabling female athletes who speak up for the greater good.” 

Director John Hillcoat drives the storyline with Balbina’s breathless, rock-operatic take on “Sonne,” a 2001 track from German band Rammstein.

The spot follows Nike’s “Helden” from last month, which used a German-language version of David Bowie’s “Heroes” to spotlight numerous athletes, including Nassar. Overall, the work constitutes Nike’s first “Just Do It” campaign for Germany, and it’s proving popular, with “Helden” amassing 5.4 million YouTube views so far, and “Sonne” racking up nearly 2 million in just its first four days online.

Beyond the commercials, the company is hosting “Just Do It Sundays” in Germany, with activations encouraging physical fitness and participation in sports.

Nike heralds the campaign as “a celebration of sport’s incredible power to unite people and a call to all athletes, inspiring them to go beyond medals and trophies and to become heroes themselves.”

CREDITS

NIKE: JUST DO IT GERMANY

HELDEN (HEROES) & SONNE FILMS 
WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM
Executive Creative Director: Eric Quennoy, Mark Bernath
Creative Director: Craig Williams, Evgeny Primachenko
Art Director: Jeffrey Lam
Copywriter: Alex Bower
Head of Broadcast Production: Joe Togneri
Executive Producer: Jaime Tan
Assistant Producer: Eline De Roo
Group Account Director: Kathryn Addo
Account Director: Franky Wardell
Account Manager: Margot Paquien
Planning Director: Reid Schilperoort
Planner: Alex Janneau
Head of Comms & Digital Strategy: Dani Pak
Comms Planning Director: Elsa Stahura
Studio Director: Lizzie Murray
Motion Designer: Soren Danielsen
Lead Motion Designer: Gustav von Platen
Studio Artist: Noa Redero
Project Manager: Caroline Kosse
Business Affairs: Michael Graves, Marie Hernandez

FILM PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Serial Pictures x Somesuch
Director: John Hillcoat
Director of Photography: Philippe Le Sourd
Additional Photography: Benjamin Loeb
Managing Director: Seth Wilson
Producer: Fran Thompson
Production Manager: Hannah Fowles-Pazdro
Production Designer: Marco Bittner Rosser
Costume Designer: Natalie Humphries
Sports Choreography: Andy Ansah
Service Company: Anorak

EDITING COMPANY: Trim Editing
Editor: Ross Hallard, Tom Lindsay
Edit Producer: Tatyana Alexandra 

AUDIO POST: Grand Central Recording Studios
Sound Designer/Mixer: Raja Sehgal

MUSIC – ANTHEM
Artist / Title: “Helden” 
By David Bowie 
Written by David Bowie & Brian Eno 
Arranged by Hans Zimmer
Music Company: Courtesy of The RZO Companies, Sony ATV and Universal Music Publishing
MUSIC – ZEINA
Title: “Sonne”
Music and Lyrics: Richard Z. Kruspe, Paul Landers, Till Lindemann, Christian Lorenz, Oliver Riedel, Christoph Schneider
Music Company: ã Musik-Edition Discoton GmbH / Rammstein Musikverlag / TamTam Musikverlag e.K.

POST PRODUCTION: Glassworks Amsterdam
Flame: Kyle Obley, David Forcada
VFX Supervisor: Kyle Obley
Nuke: Maxence Peillon
Executive Producer: Chris Kiser
Post Producer: Dave Moore, Jamie Mccubbin

COLOUR GRADING: MPC
Colourist: Mark Gethin
Color Assist: Nate Seymour
Executive Producer: Meghan Lang
Color Producer: Diane Valera

SOCIAL FILMS
WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM
Executive Creative Director: Eric Quennoy, Mark Bernath
Creative Director: Craig Williams, Evgeny Primachenko
Art Director : Andrew Watson
Copywriter : Tyler Andre
Film director and editor : Arthur Couvat
Head of Broadcast Production: Joe Togneri
Executive Producer: Jaime Tan
Producer (Social): Stefan Bader, Eline de Roo, Antoine Levi
Group Account Director: Kathryn Addo
Account Director: Franky Wardell
Account Manager: Margot Paquien
Planning Director: Reid Schilperoort
Planner: Alex Janneau
Head of Comms & Digital Strategy: Dani Pak
Comms Planning Director: Elsa Stahura
Studio Director: Lizzie Murray
Motion Designer: Soren Danielsen
Lead Motion Designer: Gustav von Platen
Studio Artist: Noa Redero
Project Manager: Caroline Kosse
Business Affairs: Michael Graves, Marie Hernandez

FILM PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Anorak

AUDIO POST: Grand Central Recording Studios + Wave Studios
Sound Designer/Mixer: Raja Sehgal + Randall Macdonald 

MUSIC – ANTHEM
Artist / Title: “Helden” 
By David Bowie 
Written by David Bowie & Brian Eno 
Arranged by Hans Zimmer
Music Company: Courtesy of The RZO Companies, Sony ATV and Universal Music Publishing
MUSIC – ZEINA
Title: “Sonne”

Music and Lyrics: Richard Z. Kruspe, Paul Landers, Till Lindemann, Christian Lorenz, Oliver Riedel, Christoph Schneider
Music Company: ã Musik-Edition Discoton GmbH / Rammstein Musikverlag / TamTam Musikverlag e.K.

POST PRODUCTION: Glassworks Amsterdam
Flame: Kyle Obley, David Forcada
VFX Supervisor: Kyle Obley
Nuke: Maxence Peillon
Executive Producer: Chris Kiser
Post Producer: Dave Moore, Jamie Mccubbin

Colorist: Scott Harris