Strike Night, featuring the Most Intelligent Goal in the Game
By AKQA, London, UK
For Nike Football
Highly Commended in category Design & Branding
In subcategory Digital - Experimental
Project Description
Previous iterations of the Nike Hypervenom football boot were targeted at attackers who needed extra agility in their game. The Nike Hypervenom 3 needed repositioning: Nike wanted to go after the goal scorer and positioned it as the ‘boot for the finisher’.
The task was to launch the all black colourway of the boot and establish this new positioning. We chose a physical event experience that would feature elite goal scorers; engage influencers, media and partners; and be broadcast live online to dominate the social and digital channels of the FOT (football obsessed teen) audience.
Strike Night was a finishing tournament that saw seven world class goal scorers go head-to-head. Not only were they up against each other, they were shooting at the world’s first full-size, fully interactive LED goal – the most intelligent goal in the game.
It was the centre-piece of the contest and was used to score and judge the outcome.
The task was to launch the all black colourway of the boot and establish this new positioning. We chose a physical event experience that would feature elite goal scorers; engage influencers, media and partners; and be broadcast live online to dominate the social and digital channels of the FOT (football obsessed teen) audience.
Strike Night was a finishing tournament that saw seven world class goal scorers go head-to-head. Not only were they up against each other, they were shooting at the world’s first full-size, fully interactive LED goal – the most intelligent goal in the game.
It was the centre-piece of the contest and was used to score and judge the outcome.
Agency Solution
With Hypervenom 3, we opted for an entertaining, engaging and quantifiable approach to judging the goal scoring exploits of the world’s best.
A twist on the goal scoring spectacle was bound to engage the audience; be a new and exciting challenge for athletes, bringing out their competitive spirits; and be a must-attend experience for invited media and partners.
The Strike Night LED goal scored the tournament and was a world first.
Each ball struck was tracked by 16 infra-red cameras to determine its position and speed. The ball triggered one of 25 animations to play in the LED goal net, with animations originating from the exact spot the ball hit it. The system then awarded the strike points based on its accuracy and power.
The animation and SFX style created an arcade-style environment to challenge the athlete in a fun way. As well as scoring them, it celebrated with them when they scored, but heckled them when they missed.
A twist on the goal scoring spectacle was bound to engage the audience; be a new and exciting challenge for athletes, bringing out their competitive spirits; and be a must-attend experience for invited media and partners.
The Strike Night LED goal scored the tournament and was a world first.
Each ball struck was tracked by 16 infra-red cameras to determine its position and speed. The ball triggered one of 25 animations to play in the LED goal net, with animations originating from the exact spot the ball hit it. The system then awarded the strike points based on its accuracy and power.
The animation and SFX style created an arcade-style environment to challenge the athlete in a fun way. As well as scoring them, it celebrated with them when they scored, but heckled them when they missed.