Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is one of several athletes featured in Nike's 2024 "Winning Isn't for Everyone" Olympics ad spot. Screenshot: Nike/YouTube
Between the lines: The "Winning Isn't for Everyone" campaign "marks a return of the 'f**k you' attitude in Nike advertising that taps into its hardcore athlete pedigree," Fast Company notes.
Zoom in: Narrated by Willem Dafoe, the ad wonders aloud "Do you think I'm a bad person? I think I'm better than everyone else. I want to take what's yours and never give it back."
The promotion, released late last week ahead of the Olympics starting on Friday, resembles the tone of a 1996 Olympics campaign with a similarly competitive tagline, "You don't win silver, you lose gold."
What they're saying: Many critics are assessing the spirit of the ad in the context of Nike's own fumbles against upstarts.
"The unrelenting pursuit of victory [is] a message that carries double meaning given Nike's recent struggles," The Oregonian writes.
