The ‘You Can’t Stop Us’ campaign by Nike has resonated with people on the Internet, garnering over 31 million YouTube views in just two days. It features 53 players across 24 sports disciplines, including the Indian women’s cricket team, sweating it out in the field in a motivational montage.

The montage was developed by researching more than 4,000 pieces of footage, and it underscores the common traits shared by athletes around the world. The campaign coincides with the return of basketball as NBA is set to resume telecast on 31 July after a 20-week hiatus due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

“Closed gyms and empty stadiums haven’t stopped athletes from pushing forward and using their platforms to help create change. Sport shows us what an equal playing field looks like and reminds us that a better future is possible,” Nike said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Adidas under the ‘Ready For Sport’ campaign series has launched the film titled ‘What’s One More’, to inspire and enable all athletes as they prepare for tournaments in 2021 since a majority of sports events have been postponed this year.

“Sport is keeping people physically active and mentally healthy. It’s our responsibility to inspire optimism and hope. The whole world is facing one problem. As a global brand, it’s a unique moment where our ready for sport campaign almost seamlessly connects with every single person globally,” said Manish Sapra, senior marketing director, Adidas India.

The film explores how these cancellations affected the physical and mental wellness of players, while also following how they used this experience to positively prepare to get back to the game; leading the way and inspiring athletes who are watching from home.

Talking about the Nike campaign, Suresh Eriyat, founder and creative director, Eeksaurus Studios lauded its clever use of sports footage. The ad talks about co-existence of various sports and also touches on issues of equality of race, gender, sexuality, colour and nationalities.

“It’s a humongous task to find such footage which is shot in different speed and then adjust it to bring it together. On top of that to bring different frames in a way that the underlying storyline emerges so strongly is no mean feat,” he added.

D. Ramakrishna, founder of Cartwheel, a Mumbai-based independent creative consultancy, feels that there’s never been a better time to catch people in a reflective, contemplative, introspective mood than now.

“It’s a great time for brands to articulate what they stand for. People are ready to read more, watch more, do more, think more and plan more,” he said.

Jitender Dabas, chief operating officer, McCann Worldgroup India believes that sports stand for triumph of the human spirit, inspiration and sheer joy which the world needs right now.