Nike Makes Impression on Downtown

Nike has hit the streets of Los Angeles running.

The athletic shoe maker and its Portland, Ore.-based ad agency, Wieden & Kennedy, spent much of last week on downtown streets filming a 90-second TV spot for the new Air 180 running shoe. Nike plans to first broadcast the commercial during the Super Bowl.

Most of the commercial, which features giant images of Nike athletes projected on buildings in downtown Los Angeles, was filmed at night. Among the 50-foot-tall projected images to be used in the commercial are those of Los Angeles Raider Bo Jackson taking off on his 88-yard run against the Cincinnati Bengals and a slam-dunk shot by basketball great Michael Jordan.

But the real star of the ad is Mark Allen, the two-time winner of the Ironman Triathlon, who is seen in the foreground of the ad, running through the streets of Los Angeles. The other images are all projected on buildings behind him.

Allen discovers that although the streets may appear to be deserted, he is actually being followed by the giant, projected images of Jackson, Jordan and even John McEnroe.