“You don’t win silver, you lose gold” was the tagline from the famous Nike ad for the 1996 Olympic Games. Today, Nike launched another commercial for the 2024 Paris Olympics that’d probably go down as one of the greatest ads in history. Probably because the ad divides opinions, seeks answers, and wants clarification about only one thing: “Am I a bad person?”

The same thing was asked time and again in the ad featuring prominent Nike athletes like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, A’ja Wilson, and Victor Wembamyama. Each of them posted a separate edition of snippets on their social media handles, building up anticipation for the whole campaign labeled “Winning Isn’t for Everyone”.

The 1-minute and 31-second ad provides a deep dive into the minds of the athletes and makes it glaringly obvious what sets them apart. The caption on the video read, “Winning Isn’t For Everyone. It’s for those who do whatever it takes. You can’t win them all, but you should sure as hell try. Bring on the odds, play like you mean it. Because if you don’t want to win, congrats. You’ve already lost”. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the video for you:

Legendary actor William Defoe’s voice added another layer of regal to it. Discussing the theme of the Nike ad, Nicole Graham, the Chief Marketing Officer for the sports brand, said, “This is about celebrating the voice of the athlete. It’s a story about what it takes to be the best. The legacies that have yet to be shaped. And the dreams that will be made real. It reminds the world that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to win.” With the Olympics just a week away, this was the sort of hype video everyone needed. And surely this time, this will not backfire like the one did in 1996.

Nike’s controversial ad for the 1996 Olympic Games

“You don’t win silver, you lose gold”. This was how Nike was trying to prep the athletes ahead of the 1996 Olympics. Sounds weird right? Surely doesn’t sound great to Silver Medalists anywhere around the world. In fact, many silver medal winners did feel bad about themselves at the time. That’s how a bad marketing game can wreak havoc on the world.

People around the globe criticized this marketing campaign saying that rather than intending to represent grit and determination, it disrespectfully represented a lack of sportsmanship.

In fact, Olympic swimmer Amy White was infuriated over the ad campaign, claiming to feel “insulted” by the ad. “I am insulted every time I see it. They are slapping every athlete and every country that doesn’t win gold in the face. That’s not the spirit of the Olympics,” White said. And she has all the reasons to feel that way. In 1984, she won a silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke category, right behind Yolanda de Rover (Netherlands), saying that it was the biggest accomplishment of her life. So, Nike coming in and conveying that “second isn’t the best” or “second isn’t winning” will receive some backlash from all the silver medal winners, globally.

Even with the negative coverage, it did not matter to the USAB players. Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, and more were rather okay with it. Despite their occasional differences in opinion, the team went on to win the gold medal. So yes, it wasn’t a disaster for Nike after all. But for those who remember it fondly, it was one of the greatest hype attempts of that era and surely the latest one will be a welcome addition to Nike’s long list of legendary commercials.