An Ad So Brutal It Went Viral Without a Product Shot (why Nike is the 🐐)

In partnership with

Hello Creative Souls,

When everyone else flexed budgets, Nike just told the truth — fast.

Let’s be honest. Most ads this time of year are shiny, sentimental, and soaked in soft piano music. Big brands pull out even bigger budgets to inspire, impress, and—let’s be real—sell.

But in 2016, Nike did something radically different: it called bullshit.

Instead of selling shoes, Time Is Precious sold self-awareness. With nothing but black-and-white text, a voiceover, and a ruthless script, Nike served us a mirror. One that reflected exactly how much of our lives we’re wasting in front of screens.

No actors. No sneakers. No soft piano.

Just brutal honesty.

💡 The Idea

Nike didn’t interrupt your screen time with something better. It asked why you were watching in the first place.

Each video ran like a fast-paced takedown of modern digital life:

• “You’ll spend 7.8 years of your life watching TV.”

• “You like that puppy video. That baby that says smart stuff. That motivational quote.”

• “You could be outside. Or at the gym. Or literally moving.”

It mocked our excuses, our scroll habits, our endless ‘Next Episode’ clicks. It even roasted The Walking Dead by summarizing an entire season in 30 seconds. Savage.

And then came the kicker:
“Are we running today?”

✅ Why This Worked (And What You Can Steal)

1. It broke the fourth wall, hard.
Nike didn’t gently coax you into inspiration. It kicked in the door and made you uncomfortable. In a world of “be kind to yourself” marketing, this campaign said: Move your ass.

2. Zero frills, all punch.
No influencers, no product shots, no cinematic fluff. Just a minimalist screen and a maximalist message. The restraint made it feel raw, real, and impossible to ignore.

3. It didn’t advertise. It called out.
There’s power in saying what everyone’s thinking but no brand has the guts to admit: most of us are wasting our lives online. Nike became the friend who tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

4. It was built for virality — by design.
Each video was short, brutal, and shareable. You couldn’t watch one without wanting to send it to your most sedentary friend (or your past self).

The Crux:

Creativity doesn’t need budget bloat. It needs guts.
Time Is Precious reminds us that the boldest move in a world of noise is to say something quiet, true, and slightly offensive.

The best ads don’t sell the product. They sell the shift in mindset that makes the product inevitable.

And sometimes? That shift starts with four words:
Are we running today?

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See you next week, and in line with the theme of this issue, we have decided to save you guys some time and give out 2 ebooks for free so you can ‘run’. Put 0$ in the amount and download and share it for free to whomever you want. Ideally your agency, your colleagues and all your vendors.

Viral Video Mastery - 0$ - Click here
Productivity Prompts - 0$ - Click here

– Team Figment

LAST 2 Editions: Learn Clever Use of AI and Clever Twists in writing.

Figment is written by Abbhinav Kastura, a writer/producer who has spent a decade making impactful internet videos and Guru Nicketan, an advertising nerd, B2B Marketer, stand-up comedian, and a film buff.