For years, The Modern Warrior had served as the inspiration for all marketing and brand-led initiatives for Nike Football. But the game and the world around it had evolved dramatically since we first met our muse, and our understanding of him had to follow suit.

This project provided a window into the psyche of a new muse for US Nike Football; one that took a broader lens and sought to paint a picture that was more representative of their core consumer.

The new muse was named ‘The 97’, which paid homage to the 97% of high school football players who will not play at the D1 level. Through a combination of focus groups, surveys, and custom research, we dug deep into the attitudinal and behavioral insights and created an actionable plan for our clients to use.

We experienced some serious Friday Night Lights nostalgia along the way, even though nobody on the team had ever worn a helmet on gameday.