Hero the heroes. Tell their story to cut through and connect.

Problem

Expectations were sky-high for both the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) and Nike for the 2019 Women's World Cup. But there was one major hurdle: Nike wasn't the official tournament sponsor.

How do we make a statement big enough to cut through the noise and own the tournament anyway?

Solution

Hero the heroes (and their jersey).

The plan started over a year before the tournament with a strategic shift to a women's focused strategy. This included launching category defining innovation and new product silos with key members of the USWNT. Then, we unleashed the full power of the Nike ecosystem with a digital first plan to elevate USWNT athletes across multiple categories, tell their stories, and ultimately position their jersey as if it was Superman’s cape: “There’s a hero inside all of us, we just need the courage to put on the cape.”

The campaign transformed a team kit into a symbol of strength, courage, support, and possibility. Not just for the players on the field, but for fans everywhere.

Outcome

The USWNT didn’t just dominate the pitch—they dominated the conversation.

• True shift to a women's focused strategy
• Digital first approach enabled fans, influencers, and other athletes to support the USWNT and participate in the energy of the tournament
• Owning key moments allowed for viral moments, including the "heroes supporting heroes" moment where the USWNT wore their heroes names on the back of their shirt during a match
• The USWNT jersey became the highest-selling soccer jersey in nike.com history
• Nike soccer revenue soared to 4x the previous Women's World Cup

The highest selling soccer jersey in nike.com history and increasing revenue 4x from the previous Women's World Cup.