Tag (advertisement)
A frame from Tag in Bay subway station
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| Agency | Wieden+Kennedy |
|---|---|
| Client | Nike Inc. |
| Language | English |
| Running time | 90 seconds |
| Product | |
| Release date(s) | August 1, 2001 |
| Directed by | Frank Budgen |
| Music by | David Wittman |
| Production company |
Gorgeous Enterprises |
| Produced by | Alicia Bernard |
| Country | United States |
| Followed by | Shaderunner |
| Official website | http://www.nike.com/ |
Tag is a television and cinema advertisement launched by Nike Inc. in 2001 to promote its line of sportswear in the United States. It was one of four pieces forming the television component of the $25m "Play" campaign, which had been running for several months. Tag was created by advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy. Production was handled by production company Gorgeous Enterprises, who assigned director Frank Budgen to oversee the project. Filming took place in Toronto, Ontario.
The commercial premiered on American television on 25 June 2001, and ran until Labor Day (3 September). It was supported by three additional television and cinema commercials, titled Shaderunner, Tailgating, and Racing, which ran concurrently. There was also a significant offline campaign, comprising public events in the streets of major American cities, and invitation-only parties at Niketown stores attended by celebrities. Tag, and its associated campaign, were a huge critical success, garnering dozens of awards from the advertising and television industries, including the Grand Prix at the prestigious Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Tag was one of the ten most-awarded commercials of 2002, and its impact was such that in 2010 it was voted one of the top ten advertisements of the decade by Campaign magazine.
Tag opens with a sequence of shots of a modern metropolis, bustling with cars and pedestrian traffic. An unidentified person approaches a man on the street and places their hand on his shoulder, then flees before their target can turn around. The man looks exasperated for a moment as he realises that he has just been tagged as "It" in a city-wide game of Tag. People begin to scatter in all directions away from him. He runs down the street to a bus, which promptly shuts its door on him and pulls away. People lock themselves into their cars as he approaches, while others duck into nearby buildings; one hides himself in the opposite side of a revolving door to avoid being tagged. Crowds empty off the streets, while others huddle in lines behind the partial cover given by wastebins, scattering when they are spotted.
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Wikipedia