Nike just launched "Watch Where We're Going," a powerful new campaign that celebrates refugee athletes competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Boxer Cindy Ngamba, the first member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team to join Nike's athlete roster, stars in a 60-second film created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam.
"You ask me where I'm really from? I'll tell you where I'm really from," Ngamba says as the spot opens.
We then see different Olympic athletes training hard while proudly declaring where they are from, but not in the traditional sense: from the mat, from the track, from the ring, and ultimately, "from being an athlete and a refugee."
"I'm from losing my flag, my country, and my home. But never giving up. That's where we are really from. Now, watch where we're going," Ngamba says as the commercial ends.
Ngamba, who joined Nike's athlete squad in March, left her native Cameroon at only 11 years old.
Today, she lives and trains in the U.K. as a three-time national boxing champion and a coach for young athletes.
The ad will have a social media run on YouTube, Meta, and TikTok.
Nike's Social Responsibility Efforts
The athletics company joined forces with the Olympic Refuge Foundation in 2023 to assist Terrains d'Avenir, a Paris-based program that increases access to sports for women and girls and equips trainers with tools to engage with traumatized and displaced community members.
Nike is also sponsoring the Refugee Athlete Scholarship Program and providing the IOC Refugee Olympic Team with their kits as part of the partnership.
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Nike Chief Social and Community Impact Officer Vanessa Garcia-Brito highlighted the company's dedication to empowering displaced girls in Paris through mentorship and sports.
"With a shared belief that all kids should have access to play, we're committed to removing barriers by providing displaced girls in Paris with strong, caring mentors and coaches who can empower them with a lifetime of confidence," she said in a statement.
The "Watch Where We're Going" campaign is another testament to the ambitions and resilience of displaced athletes, underscoring Nike's dedication to bringing marginalized sportsmen to the global stage.
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Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang
